Rays trade Littell to Reds in 3-team deal with Dodgers
The Cincinnati Reds acquired right-hander Zack Littell from the Tampa Bay Rays as part of a three-team trade that also includes the Los Angeles Dodgers, the teams confirmed Thursday.
Cincinnati dealt Triple-A right-hander Brian Van Belle and left-handed pitching prospect Adam Serwinowski to the Rays in exchange for Littell. Tampa Bay then flipped Serwinowski to the Dodgers, along with catcher Ben Rortvedt and reliever Paul Gervase, in exchange for catcher Hunter Feduccia.
The news first broke just a few hours after Littell started Wednesday for the Rays against the New York Yankees. He struck out four and walked four while allowing two hits over five innings of work in his final start as a Ray.
Zack Littell said he got a call from Erik Neander as today’s game ended, informing him he’d been traded to the #Reds. Medicals are still being exchanged.
— Ryan Bass (@Ry_Bass) July 31, 2025
Littell reared up postgame as he talked about his time being a member of @RaysBaseball. More from Littell to come.
The 29-year-old owns a 3.58 ERA and 1.12 WHIP with 89 strikeouts and one complete game across 22 starts this season. While Littell's 1.4 BB/9 rate is the second-lowest among qualified pitchers in 2025, he also leads the majors with 26 home runs allowed.
Cincinnati has elected to buy at this year's deadline despite sitting three games out of a playoff spot. Littell was the Reds' second addition of the day following the acquisition of third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Van Belle was on Cincinnati's 40-man roster but had been pitching at Triple-A Louisville before the trade. He spent three days in the majors with the Boston Red Sox earlier this year but didn't appear in a game before being designated for assignment.
The 28-year-old owns a 3.21 ERA and 1.18 WHIP with 69 strikeouts and 11 walks across 81 1/3 innings in Triple-A this season.
Serwinowski, 21, was the Reds' 15th-round draft pick in 2022. The South Carolina native owns a 4.84 ERA and 1.44 WHIP with 92 strikeouts and 39 walks across 18 appearances (17 starts) for High-A Dayton this campaign.
Feduccia, who heads from L.A. to Tampa Bay, spent most of the last four seasons with the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City. This year, he's hit .287/.398/.460 with nine homers and 51 RBIs in Triple-A while splitting time between catcher and DH. He's appeared in seven big-league games since 2024.
Gervase, 25, made his MLB debut with the Rays earlier this season and put up a 4.26 ERA in five games. He owns a 3.12 ERA with a 14.1 K/9 rate and four saves over 40 1/3 innings with Triple-A Durham this season.
Rortvedt, 27, owns a .540 OPS with eight homers and 48 RBIs over 209 big-league games with three teams since 2021. He played 112 games for the Rays last season but has spent most of 2025 in Triple-A after being designated for assignment in May.