Samuel Aldegheri (born 19 September 2001) is an Italian professional

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pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024. He is the first major league pitcher to be born and raised in Italy.

Career

Philadelphia Phillies

Aldegheri played for the Parma Clima of the

Italian Baseball League The Italian Baseball League (IBL, ), officially known as the Serie A (), is the top-level baseball league in Italy. Founded in 1948, it is governed by the Italian Baseball & Softball Federation (FIBS), which has its headquarters in Rome. Many o ...

in 2019 and 2020. In July 2019, he signed with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

as an international free agent. He made his professional debut in 2021 with the

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

Florida Complex League Phillies The Florida Complex League Phillies are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Phillies. The team plays i ...

before being promoted to the

Low-A Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for ...

Clearwater Threshers The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 20 ...

. He was placed on the injured list with a left elbow injury on August 20 and missed the remainder of the season and a portion of the following season, which he spent exclusively in the Florida Complex League. Aldegheri returned to Clearwater for the start of the 2023 season before being promoted to the

High-A High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

Jersey Shore BlueClaws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locati ...

on August 3. After the 2023 season ended, his control was ranked the best in the Phillies farm system by

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. Aldegheri returned to Jersey Shore for the start of the 2024 season.

Los Angeles Angels

On 27 July 2024, the Phillies traded Aldegheri and George Klassen to the

in exchange for Carlos Estévez. On 29 August, the Angels called Aldegheri up to the major leagues for the first time. While other Italian-born pitchers had previously appeared in the major leagues, such as

Marino Pieretti Marino Paul Pieretti (September 23, 1920 – January 30, 1981) was an Italian-born American professional baseball player. He played in the major-leagues from 1945 through 1950 in the American League for the Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox ...

, Aldegheri became the first pitcher born and raised in Italy to appear in an MLB game, when he made his debut with the Angels on 30 August. In 3 starts during his rookie campaign, Aldegheri posted a 1-2 record and 4.85 ERA with 10 strikeouts over 13 innings of work. Aldegheri was optioned to the Triple-A

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team that plays in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Based in South Jordan, Utah, the team plays its home games at The Ballpark at Am ...

to begin the 2025 season. On June 2, 2025, he was recalled from Double-A Rocket City to join the major league club, where he pitched in one game, allowing two unearned runs across 2.1 frames, before being sent down again.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldegheri, Samuel 2001 births Living people Clearwater Threshers players Florida Complex League Phillies players Italian expatriate baseball players in the United States Jersey Shore BlueClaws players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Italy Parma Baseball Club players Reading Fightin Phils players Rocket City Trash Pandas players Sportspeople from Verona 21st-century Italian sportsmen