The Royals announced that right-hander Dan Altavilla has been designated for assignment. He had been on the 60-day injured list and was on a rehab assignment but it seems they didn’t want him to retake a spot on their 40-man roster, so he’s now in DFA limbo instead.
Altavilla, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Royals in the offseason and was selected to their roster in June. He made five appearances for the club, allowing six earned runs in 3 2/3 innings via five hits, three walks and breaking Mookie Betts’ hand.
The righty then landed on the 15-day injured list due to a right oblique strain, later getting transferred to the 60-day IL. He started a rehab August 6 and was coming up to the end of his 30-day maximum rehab window. Since he’s out of options, the club was going to have to add him back onto both the 40-man and active rosters, but they decided to cut him loose instead.
Since it is the post-deadline part of the schedule, Altavilla will be placed on waivers in the coming days. If he were to pass through unclaimed, he would have the right to elect free agency, both due to having a previous career outright and at least three years of service time.
His recent major league stint with the Royals adds a small amount of data to his career stats. He now has 119 2/3 innings pitched with a 4.36 ERA in seven different seasons. His 26% strikeout rate is quite strong but his 12.2% walk rate is definitely on the high side. Most of that came from 2016 to 2021 as he didn’t pitch in the majors in either 2022 or 2023, missing most of that time due to Tommy John surgery.