August 7: The Nats announced that they have requested unconditional release waivers on Littell. August 5: The Nationals have designated righty Zack Littell for assignment, the team announced. He’s sitting on a 4.97 mark with a career-low 14.6% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate. That’s a quality walk rate, but it’s also substantially higher than the elite 4.2% mark he’d delivered over the three prior seasons combined. On a straight $7MM deal, Littell would be owed about $1.93MM from now through season’s end.