Will Tampa Bay Rays Deal This Veteran Pitcher at MLB Trade Deadline?

It has not been great for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2025. It has not been terrible for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2025. It simply ... has been.

Entering Saturday with a 24-26 record across their first 50 games of the year, the Rays hold down fourth in the American League East, though they are only six games behind the first-place New York Yankees.

It has Tampa Bay in a curious position with the 2025 MLB trade deadline quickly approaching. Do the Rays buy, or do they sell? While they are not completely out of the mix like the Baltimore Orioles, their struggles to find consistent success on the mound in their current home away from home has all signs pointing to "retool for the future."

It is nothing new for the Rays, and something they do quite frequently. This year, they have tabbed to once again move on from some of their pitching depth to add to their farm system. The most likely piece to move has been predicted to be veteran starting pitcher Zack Littell.

Littell, 29, is on his fourth team in his eight-year career in MLB. He is not an ace, but he has performed as a serviceable arm at the back end of any rotation, especially in his prime years.

Since 2023, the veteran has pitched to a 3.89 ERA across 305.2 innings in 67 games (53 starts) with 253 strikeouts and a 104 ERA+.

"Zack Littell comes with a respectable 4.31 ERA, despite allowing home runs at a rate (2.15 HR/9) way higher than both his previous career norm (1.34) and the MLB average this year (1.10)," Kerry Miller wrote in a recent article for Bleacher Report. "That doesn't mean he's destined to improve, as he also has the worst strikeout rate of his career. But there will be no shortage of teams willing to take a flyer on a starting pitcher with a sub-4.00 ERA dating back to the start of 2023 who has a prorated salary of around $2M for two months."

While Littell has not been great in 2025, a change of scenery would do the veteran well. Pitching for a contender has a way of making players better, too, with Jesus Luzardo of the Philadelphia Phillies serving as a prime example.