Littell, who had been used as the Twins' primary pitcher in his last appearance Sept. 2, won't be used in that capacity Sunday versus the Royals, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Littell still might work out of the bullpen in the series finale, but the Twins have abandoned using an opener for the sixth spot in the rotation, at least for this turn. Instead, Chase De Jong will make the start in his Twins debut and isn't expected to face any restrictions with his pitch count after logging 26 starts in the minors this season. With 10 runs (nine earned) allowed over 7.1 innings in the big leagues, Littell probably hasn't performed well yet enough to warrant handling a meaningful workload for Minnesota.