Daniel Altavilla (born September 8, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball for the Seattle Mariners from 2016 through 2020, and the San Diego Padres from 2020 through 2021.

Amateur career

Altavilla attended Elizabeth Forward High School in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, and played college baseball at Mercyhurst University. After his sophomore season in 2013, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. As a junior at Mercyhurst, he was 9–1 with a 1.23 ERA in 12 starts, striking out a school-record 129 batters in 80.1

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

s. He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the fifth round of the

2014 Major League Baseball Draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

and signed for $250,000.

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

After signing, Altavilla made his professional debut that same year with the Everett AquaSox and spent the whole season there, going 5–3 with a 4.36 ERA in 14 starts. In 2015, he played for the Bakersfield Blaze where he pitched to a 6–12 record with a 4.07 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 28 games started. He began 2016 with the Jackson Generals. Altavilla was called up to the majors for the first time on August 27, 2016, and he made his major league debut that same night. In 43 relief appearances for Jackson prior to being recalled, he was 7–3 with 1.91 ERA. He spent the remainder of the season with Seattle, compiling a 0.73 ERA in 12.1 innings pitched. Altavilla began 2017 with Seattle, but was sent down to the Tacoma Rainers in April. He was recalled from Tacoma multiple times during the season before being recalled for the remainder of the season for September call-ups. In twenty games for Tacoma he was 2–0 with a 1.54 ERA, and in 41 games for Seattle, he was 1–1 with a 4.24 ERA. Altavilla began 2018 with Seattle but was placed on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

in late April with joint inflammation. After being activated on May 12, he returned to Seattle, but was sent back down to Tacoma on May 23. He was recalled once again on May 27. He was limited to just 22 appearances in 2018 and 17 in 2019 due to injury and inconsistency. On July 29, 2020, Altavilla recorded his first career save in a 10–7 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

San Diego Padres

On August 30, 2020, the Mariners traded Altavilla,

Austin Nola Austin Kyle Nola (born December 28, 1989) is an American professional baseball catcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Seattle Mariners. Nola was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, and Austin Adams to the San Diego Padres for Ty France, Taylor Trammell, Andrés Muñoz, and

Luis Torrens Luis Alfonso Torrens Sáez (born May 2, 1996) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher in the Chicago Cubs organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners. Career New York ...

. In 9 appearances for San Diego, he was 1–1 with a 3.12 ERA. On April 17, 2021, Altavilla was placed on the 10-day injured list with right elbow inflammation. Through 2 games, Altavilla recorded a 6.75 ERA. He was later transferred to the 60-day injured list on May 28. On June 29, Altavilla underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

, ending his 2021 season. On November 3, the Padres outrighted him to Triple-A. That same day, Altavilla elected free agency.

Boston Red Sox

In mid-March 2022, Altavilla was reported to have agreed to a two-year minor-league deal with the Boston Red Sox; the signing was confirmed by the team on March 30. He did not make an appearance for the organization in 2022 as he continued to rehabilitate from surgery. In 2023, Altavilla made 8 appearance split between the rookie–level

Florida Complex League Red Sox The Florida Complex League Red Sox are a professional baseball team competing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL) of Minor League Baseball. The team is owned and operated by the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior ...

and High–A Greenville Drive, posting a cumulative 3.00 ERA with 7 strikeouts in 12.0 innings of work. On August 15, Altavilla was released by the Red Sox organization.

References

External links

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Mercyhurst Lakers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Altavilla, Dan 1992 births Living people Arkansas Travelers players Bakersfield Blaze players Baseball players from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Everett AquaSox players Florida Complex League Red Sox players Greenville Drive players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players Major League Baseball pitchers Mercyhurst Lakers baseball players People from Elizabeth, Pennsylvania San Diego Padres players Seattle Mariners players Tacoma Rainiers players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players