The second starting pitching trade was probably the most obvious, considering the player’s contract and free agent status. Zack Littell<\/a> was a pending free agent, and the Rays cashed in by shipping him to the Cincinnati Reds<\/a> in a trade. Littell was pitching to a 3.58 ERA (4.93 FIP) and a league-leading 26 home runs allowed at the time of the trade.<\/p>\n With the dust settling after the trade deadline, the Rays made the right decisions regarding these pitchers. For starters, the non-contending Minnesota Twins agreed with Tampa Bay that Bradley needed to first spend time in the minor leagues on account of poor performance. He made three starts at the Twins’ Triple-A St. Paul affiliate, and the numbers (7.53 ERA) weren’t particularly scintillating. Bradley was eventually called up on August 24 and turned in a clunker against the Chicago White Sox. In 21 1\/3 innings with Minnesota, he has a 6.33 ERA with a 19-7 K-BB ratio.<\/p>\n Littell has transported his mediocre season to Cincinnati. He has set a career high in home runs allowed and has yielded eight so far in Cincy. He has a 4.74 ERA and a 34-8 K-BB ratio in 43 2\/3 innings for the Reds in eight games. Littell will be a free agent, so the Rays can re-sign the North Carolina native, but his performance down the stretch isn’t inspiring a ton of enthusiasm.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Adrian Houser<\/a> has looked good for the Rays as a solid rotation option in the second half of the season. The numbers may not be particularly attractive (4.67 ERA in eight games), but the club has a solid record when he starts a game. Houser is giving the team length by mostly pitching into the fifth inning during his outings.<\/p>\n Another interesting wrinkle has emerged concerning Taj Bradley and his study habits. Bradley actually publicly admitted to Twins reporters that he had never studied<\/a> an opposing lineup in his career. The Rays, as an analytics-first organization, must have grown tired of Bradley’s intransigence and figured this was the best opportunity to cut bait. Kudos to the Rays for making a decision that they felt was in their best interest.<\/p>\n Taj Bradley said he studied scouting reports for the first time in his career this week. He allowed one hit and one run in five innings to the Padres.<\/p>\n \u201cI just never did it at all. I was kind of out there blind the whole time.\u201d https:\/\/t.co\/yo9ItIXsoY<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) August 31, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/06\/USATSI_23621763_168400885_lowres-300x200.jpg\")
Rays Traded The Right Starting Pitchers<\/h3>\n
Rays Have The Right Guys In Their Possession<\/h3>\n
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