Nationals part ways with ex-Rays, Twins veteran starter after trade deadline

The Washington Nationals have parted ways with a nine-year Major League veteran starter. On Wednesday, the NL East club announced that right-hander Brad Lord was reinstated from the 15-day injured list. Lord will replace fellow righty Zack Littell, who was designated for assignment by the Nationals. Littell has made 23 appearances with Washington this season, including 13 starts. His 14.6% strikeout rate is a career low, as he's totaled just 70 punchouts in 112.1 innings. "To Littell’s credit, he’s performed much better since an awful first month of the season," Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors wrote. 'Despite being tagged for eight runs in a road date with the A’s in mid-July, he still has a 3.98 ERA dating back to the beginning of May." The Nationals were Littell's sixth team in his nine