Giants send pitcher who got into heated argument with manager Gabe Kapler to Triple-A

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San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler says the team optioning Zack Littell had nothing to do with their heated conversation after Kapler removed the reliever from the game Monday night.

The Giants were making room for left-hander Thomas Szapucki on the roster, and Littell was the odd man out. But the timing does look a bit suspicious after Littell had some words with Kapler on the mound that led to both walking into the Giants’ clubhouse to finish the argument.

Kapler called the move "a baseball decision," saying Littell’s option was simply a performance-based transaction. He added that the move likely would’ve been made prior to Monday’s incident.

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Zack Littell of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, Sept. 11, 2022, in Chicago. (Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

"I think the most straightforward way to think about it is there’s a lot of competition in our bullpen all the time," Kapler said via NBC Sports Bay Area. "And the way I explained it to Zack is that I totally understand that he may feel the decision to have him go to Sac [Triple-A Sacramento] was related to the interaction that we had last night on the mound and subsequently in the tunnel. I tried to assure him that it was very much performance-based, and we have a lot of arms that we want to get a look at in our bullpen, including getting Szapucki on the roster."

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Kapler finished by saying Littell has the chance to return to the Giants at some point, though the regular season is drawing to a close in less than a month.

In Monday night’s