Red Sox designate Zack Littell for assignment

The Red Sox have designated right-hander Zack Littell for assignment, the club announced prior to Wednesday’s series finale against the Braves.

Littell, 27, was acquired from the Rangers in exchange for cash considerations on Friday and was added to the major-league roster the following afternoon. He appeared in two games for the Red Sox, allowing three earned runs on three hits and three walks to go along with two strikeouts over three innings of work.

After yielding two runs in the eighth inning of 6-1 loss to the Phillies on Sunday, Littell gave up one run on one hit, two walks, and two strikeouts in the final two innings of a 9-3 loss to the Braves on Tuesday night.

Littell is out of minor-league options, so the Red Sox had no choice but to designate the righty for assignment and expose him to waivers. They will have the next seven days to either trade, release, or pass Littell through waivers if he goes unclaimed. In that scenario, though, Littell would have the ability to reject an assignment to the minor-leagues in favor of free agency since he has previously been outrighted.

As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, though, Littell may elect to stick with the Red Sox as a non-40-man roster player since they were the only organization willing to give him a guaranteed major-league roster spot. Prior to Friday’s trade, Littell had opened the 2023 season with Texas’ Triple-A affiliate, posting a 2.25 ERA with 16 strikeouts to two walks in eight relief appearances (12 innings) for the Round Rock Express.

By designating Littell for assignment, Boston reduced the size of its 40-man roster from 40 to 39 players. The Red Sox removed Littell from their 26-man roster in order to activate left-hander James Paxton from the 15-day injured list.

Paxton, who began the season on the injured list due to a left hamstring strain, will make his Red Sox debut in Friday’s series opener against the Cardinals at Fenway Park.