Amid trade rumors, Littell delivers dominant outing

ST. PETERSBURG -- The last 48 hours have not been easy for the Rays. In that short amount of time, they have had to say goodbye to star slugger and fan favorite Randy Arozarena as well as reliable staff ace Zack Eflin.

“Goodbyes suck,” second baseman Brandon Lowe said.

And with a few days left until Tuesday’s Trade Deadline, the goodbyes may not be over yet for the Rays.

“The odds are, another guy or two is going to leave this locker room,” pitcher Zack Littell said prior to his start Saturday against the Reds at Tropicana Field.

Littell or Lowe could be one of those guys. They are among the handful of Rays whose names have been bandied about in trade rumors recently. But they blocked out the noise and stepped up in a 4-0 Tampa Bay victory.

Littell was the star of the afternoon, delivering what manager Kevin Cash said may have been his best outing of the year. The 28-year-old right-hander limited the Reds to just three hits and one walk over seven innings while striking out five. It was just the fourth time in Littell’s seven-season career that he made it through seven frames and the first time that he made it through without allowing a run.

He mixed his five offerings effectively but leaned most on his splitter, which the Reds missed on seven of the 14 times they swung at it.

“He was throwing everything where he wanted to. He was attacking guys. His splitter was unbelievable today,” catcher Alex Jackson said of Littell. “He was throwing it for strikes. He was throwing it for chase. He was just bouncing it around the zone and keeping them off balance.”

It was quite an advertisement to teams that might be interested in acquiring Littell, who is under club control through next season. Littell, like many others in the Rays’ clubhouse, knows that he may not be long for this franchise, which has made it clear that it is prioritizing the future over the present.

But worrying about what will happen over the next 48-72 hours is just wasted energy.

“Obviously, right now, it’s a possibility,” Littell said of his chances of being traded. “But it hasn’t crossed my mind. I just kind of take it day by day.”

However, Cash admitted that seeing your name in rumors at this type of year is “a tough situation,” and he commended Littell for shoving through it all.

“To go out and have that type of outing is really impressive,” Cash said. “You feel for him, but that’s the game right now. … I really think our guys have handled things really, really well considering a lot of news yesterday. And then today with just continued rumors. They are not going to go away until we get through [Tuesday].”

The Rays’ offense backed Littell in the fifth inning with a three-run outburst that came within the span of just eight pitches. Jackson opened the frame by hammering a sweeper from Reds starter Andrew Abbott out to left field. Jackson’s third home run of the season was followed immediately by Yandy Díaz’s ninth as Tampa Bay’s leadoff hitter slugged a fastball out to right.

Amed Rosario then stepped to the plate and pounced on a first-pitch curveball. It traveled 413 feet to center field and would have been a home run in 23 ballparks, but Tropicana Field was not one of those places. Instead, Rosario’s drive hit mere inches from the top of the center-field wall. He would have to settle for a double instead of capping the club’s first occasion of back-to-back-to-back homers since 2018.

I was kind of pushing some air out there, trying to give it that little extra boost to get out,” said Lowe, who was standing on deck. “That’s about as far as you can hit it and not hit it out.”

Rosario would still come around to score after Lowe bashed his own double to left-center. The 30-year-old Lowe has been swinging a hot bat since the start of June, slashing .291/.373/.597 with 11 homers over that 39-game period.

Although injuries have dogged him in recent seasons -- he missed five weeks earlier this year due to an oblique strain -- he is showing signs of the player who crushed 39 home runs in 2021. He carries club options over the next two seasons that total $22 million. That’s a pretty affordable price for a middle-of-the-lineup bat who plays in the middle of the field.

Perhaps he will be the next Rays veteran headed elsewhere by the Deadline. No one knows for sure right now. Until something happens, Lowe and the Rays will keep their attention on the field, because that is the only thing they can control at this time of the year.

“You understand that no matter when those trades happen, like it was yesterday or the next day, you’ve got to play your best baseball,” Lowe said. “There is still a job to be done.”