Recent White Sox Signing Could Earn Bullpen Role

While the Garrett Crochet trade may have grabbed all the headlines last week, the White Sox quietly signed right-handed reliever Dan Altavilla to a minor-league deal. 

Altavilla is expected to attend spring training as a non-roster invitee. The 32-year-old has appeared in 124 games across seven MLB seasons but has been hampered by injuries throughout his career. This includes multiple UCL strains and a forearm strain. The forearm strain led to Altavilla missing the entire 2022 season due to Tommy John surgery. He was also placed on the 60-day IL last season due to an oblique strain. 

Altavilla threw just 3.2 innings across five appearances for the Royals in 2024 and allowed six earned runs. His numbers in Triple-A Omaha were much better. In 41 innings he owned a 3.51 ERA, despite a 12.9 walk rate. 

Altavilla was initially drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 5th round of the 2014 MLB draft out of Mercyhurst University in Pennsylvania. He made his debut two years later marking the first of five seasons with Seattle. During his time in a Mariners uniform, he threw a combined 79 2/3 innings with a 3.28 ERA and 25.3% strikeout rate. However, he had a walk rate north of 10 percent in four of those seasons. 

He was traded to the San Diego Padres midway through the 2020 season in a six-player deal. The change of scenery hasn’t worked out to this point. Altavilla has thrown just 40 big-league innings since the trade, with a gaudy 6.53 ERA. 

However, Getz needs to find arms to fill out the bullpen, and when healthy Altvilla has shown that he has a lively arm. Last season his fastball averaged nearly 97 mph with the Royals and owns a career 26 percent strikeout rate. The White Sox bullpen was a revolving door of arms last season, which is one of the reasons they had the 4.74 earned run average, which was the third-highest mark in the MLB.

If Altavilla can put together a solid showing in spring training and make the team, it could be an opportunity to revitalize his career. Assuming he cracks the Opening Day roster, he would have plenty of opportunities to eat up innings in a bullpen made up of Justin Anderson, Jared Shuster, Steven Wilson, Ron Marinaccio, Fraser Ellard, and Prelander Berroa.