Apparently Zack Littell’s late-night apology in Gabe Kapler’s office wasn’t enough.
Littell got visibly upset when Kapler came to take the ball from him in the eighth inning of Monday night’s 3-2 win over Atlanta, leading to a tense interaction on the mound that extended into the dugout tunnel.
After the game, Littell apologized to Kapler and struck a remorseful tone with local reporters, telling them “I won’t let happen again.”
“What happened tonight was purely out of self-frustration for my performance and it came out in a disrespectful way towards him and obviously, that was not my intention at all,” Littell told reporters Monday night.
Kapler and Littell said they’d move on from the incident, but a day later, the Giants optioned Littell to Triple-A Sacramento. Left-handed reliever Thomas Szapucki got recalled in favor of Littell.
Szapucki has a 16.88 ERA on the season, though that’s inflated by a horrendous start to the year while he was with the Mets. In four innings for San Francisco, he’s allowed one earned run while striking out seven and walking none.
Littell’s Monday night blow-up pushed his ERA to over 5.00. Since he’ll be out of options and eligible for arbitration next year, Littell could be one of the most obvious candidates to get non-tendered.
The Giants have been open about wanting to try out new arms in the bullpen this September, a mandate reaffirmed after the club parted ways with veteran Dominic Leone.
Whether or not Szapucki factors into San Francisco’s plans beyond this year remains to be seen, but pitchers who don’t show up their manager may get more chances to prove themselves than those who do.