The Royals introduced this afternoon that right-hander Dan Altavilla has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Omaha. The proper-hander was designated for project by Kansas Metropolis earlier this week after they activated him from the 60-day injured listing however didn’t add him again to the 40-man roster.
Altavilla, 31, was a fifth-round decide by the Mariners again in 2014 who made his massive league debut in Seattle throughout the 2016 season. He supplied strong center reduction for the membership within the first few years of his profession with a mixed 3.28 ERA and 4.32 FIP in 79 2/3 innings of labor from 2016 to 2018, however struggled badly over the subsequent three seasons with the Mariners and Padres. In 36 1/3 innings of labor throughout 41 video games between 2019 and 2021, Altavilla posted a 5.70 ERA with a 4.55 FIP earlier than present process Tommy John surgical procedure in June of the 2021 season.
The proper-hander’s time with the Padres got here to an in depth shortly after he went underneath the knife, and although he signed a two-year minor league cope with the Pink Sox previous to the 2022 season he by no means made it into a giant league sport in Boston. He made his return within the minors with the Pink Sox, nevertheless, with a 3.00 ERA however a lackluster 14.3% strikeout price in eight appearances that spanned 12 innings in whole earlier than he was launched by the membership in August of that 12 months. He didn’t catch on with one other membership down the stretch in 2023 however discovered a minors pact with the Royals again in December.
In Kansas Metropolis, Altavilla discovered his first massive league alternative since 2021 when the membership chosen his contract again in June. Sadly, the righty made simply 5 appearances that noticed him give up six runs in simply 3 2/3 innings of labor earlier than he discovered himself again on the injured listing as a result of an indirect pressure. He started a rehab project early final month however struggled on the Triple-A degree throughout that point with a ghastly 9.39 ERA in eight appearances. That led the Royals to designate the righty for project as soon as he had reached the utmost rehab time within the minor leagues, although he evidently went unclaimed on waivers and now will return to Omaha with the Royals as a non-roster depth possibility for the membership down the stretch.
Whereas the Royals have struggled to get constant outcomes from their bullpen this 12 months with a reduction corps that’s backside 5 within the majors by ERA because the calendar flipped to August and backside six general this season, it nonetheless appears unlikely that the membership would flip to Altavilla down the stretch barring accidents forcing the golf equipment’ hand. Lucas Erceg, John Schreiber, and James McArthur type a strong sufficient back-end trio for the membership with sturdy peripherals regardless of mediocre outcomes, and the trio of Kris Bubic, Sam Lengthy, and Carlos Hernandez have carried out properly within the center innings of late to go away few causes for the membership to make a change as they enter the stretch run in place to make the postseason for the primary time since their 2015 World Sequence championship.
