The Atlanta Braves front office failed to deliver on their promise to sign a starting pitcher in the offseason. That decision has proven to be a poor one after all of the recent injuries to their starting pitching options. There were only two serviceable free agent starters left on the market, and now that has dwindled to one.
Zack Littell signed a one-year contract with the Nationals for the 2026 season on Tuesday. Littell had a pretty good season in 2025 with a 3.81 ERA over 186.2 innings with the Rays and Reds.
RHP Zack Littell and the Washington Nationals are in agreement on a contact, sources tell me and @JeffPassan.
— Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd) March 8, 2026
Littell threw 186.2 innings last season with a 3.81 ERA for the Rays and Reds.
However, Littell didn't do himself any favors as his ERA increased every month after being traded from Tampa Bay to Cincinnati. This made his offseason a struggle. His signing with Washington comes after Atlanta learned that Joey Wentz would miss the entire season with an ACL injury. Wentz was one of the candidates for the final spot in the rotation. The Braves passing on Littell shows they have a full intention of letting internal options fill the role.
MLB insider Ken Rosenthal stated a week or so ago that the Braves were just one injury away from being desperate enough to sign Littell or Lucas Giolito.
The Braves' bet on their young arms is risky, but could pay massive dividends
Giolito is still on the market, but there's a reason Atlanta and other teams haven't signed him yet. His fastball velocity isn't impressive, and he underperformed in every analytical category, despite a 3.41 ERA over 145 innings last season. He's also struggled with health over the last couple of seasons. That's not going to make a team trust signing him to their roster.
However, the Braves seem to understand what they have and may just have better options in camp right now than what has been available to them late in the offseason. Didier Fuentes is down at camp looking really strong and throwing gas. JR Ritchie had a tough outing in his last appearance, but has otherwise looked very ready in spring training beyond that. Atlanta's path is certainly risky, but that doesn't mean they are wrong, especially given the rising cost of free agents.
Atlanta will more than likely look for pitchers who get cut during spring training to build back some depth. That's not what fans want to see happen, but it feels like the norm at this point. They'd better hope their decision to not to add a quality starter doesn't come back to bite them.