Newly acquired veteran reliever expected to be added to the Red Sox 26-man roster
Newly acquired veteran reliever expected to be added to the Red Sox 26-man roster
The Red Sox made a minor trade on Friday afternoon to add more pitching depth to the organization.
Boston acquired right-handed reliever Zack Littell from the Rangers for cash considerations, per MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry.
Littell was initially expected to report to Triple-A Worcester, but now it appears he will be added to the 40-man roster and then the Red Sox 26-man roster.
Littell’s contract with the Rangers contained an upward mobility clause requiring the club to trade him or promote him to the majors if another club was willing to add him to the MLB roster, reports Alex Speier of the Boston Globe.
The 27-year-old has major league experience with both the Twins and Giants and owns a career 4.08 ERA in 145 major league games.
Littell is a former 11th-round pick back in 2013 out of Eastern Alamance High School in North Carolina.
This season while pitching for the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock, he posted a 2.25 ERA with 16 strikeouts and two walks.
With the Red Sox adding Littell to the 26-man roster, the club will need to make a move to add him to the 40-man roster. They could designate newly acquired reliever Justin Garza who is with the WooSox. Another option would to move Yu Chang to the 60-day injured list. Boston could then option Kaleb Ort back to Triple-A to add Littell.
The North Carolina native is out of major league options, he will need to stick with the Red Sox or be designated for assignment.
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