\n\tTheir eyes weren\u2019t deceiving Kansas City Royals fans who happened to check in on Triple-A Omaha\u2019s Saturday evening contest with Memphis. Mixed in with the carnage of the 13-1 demolition the Storm Chasers suffered<\/a> at home was the appearance of a familiar face whose brief 2024 stint with the KC organization ended almost as soon as baseball\u2019s winter began.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\tIt happened in the top of the fifth inning when Andrew P\u00e9rez<\/a>, Omaha\u2019s second pitcher of the night, had just given Memphis its sixth run. That\u2019s when Dan Altavilla<\/a>, fresh from his early week release from the Minnesota organization, emerged from the Storm Chasers\u2019 bullpen and promptly struck out Ramon Mendoza<\/a> to leave what could have been the Redbirds\u2019 seventh run stranded at third base.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\tAnd for good measure, Altavilla secured his place as one of the evening\u2019s few Chaser bright spots by finishing his night\u2019s work with a scoreless fifth inning.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\tWhat now lies ahead for this veteran of eight major league seasons?<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\tKansas City\u2019s present unfortunate circumstances may force the club to add Altavilla to its struggling relief corps, an alarmingly inconsistent group beset by injuries, including the key loss of closer Carlos Est\u00e9vez<\/a> on Opening Day, the continuing struggles of <\/a>Lucas Erceg<\/a>, and a 5.22 ERA that, heading into Sunday, tied it with Houston for the majors\u2019 worst bullpen mark.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\tBringing up the 33-year-old right-hander, who KC signed to a minor league contract Friday, seems almost inevitable. The bullpen as presently constituted is one of the team\u2019s sorest spots and doesn\u2019t show signs of imminent improvement. While he may not (and probably won\u2019t) be the bullpen panacea the Royals need, he\u2019ll be worth trying if manager Matt Quatraro<\/a>\u2019s relievers don\u2019t soon right their own ship.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\tAltavilla has had some success, most notably with Seattle, for whom he went 3-2 with a 2.61 ERA across 22 games in 2018, and in Chicago, where last season he pitched 28 times for the White Sox and finished with a career-best 2.48 ERA and a 172 ERA+. Repeating such numbers could give KC\u2019s bullpen a badly needed boost.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\tBut Altavilla isn\u2019t free of pitching baggage. Hard to ignore is the 14.73 ERA he posted in five games for the Royals after they signed the then-free agent during the 2023-2024 offseason \u2014 he gave up six runs on six hits and three walks in just 3.2 innings. Yes, an oblique strain forced him onto the Injured List for most of the season after the Royals called him up from Omaha in June, but those numbers are still troubling and hard to forget.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\tThen there are ERAs that are simply too high for a reliever, like the 17-game 5.52 he put up with the 2019 Mariners, and the 5.75 mark he posted in 22 appearances split between Seattle and San Diego during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\tAnd he missed most of 2021, and the entire 2022 big league campaign, rehabbing from Tommy John<\/a> Surgery.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\n\tDan Altavilla Could Soon Find Himself in the Royals\u2019 Bullpen<\/span>
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