Red Sox Cut Ties With Flamethrowing Hurler Attempting MLB Comeback

The right-hander failed to stick with Boston

Scott Neville | Aug 17, 2023

Red Sox Cut Ties With Flamethrowing Hurler Attempting MLB Comeback /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have seen enough of a hard-throwing right-hander attempting to work his way back into the big leagues following Tommy John surgery.

The Red Sox have released veteran hurler Dan Altavilla after a handful of appearances with the lower levels of the minor leagues according to the Major League Baseball transaction wire.

The 30-year-old hurler posted a 3.00 ERA with a 7-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .190 batting average against and 1.08 WHIP in 12 innings between Rookie Ball and High-A Greenville.

Boston signed Altavilla to a two-year deal prior to the 2022 season with the intention of building him back up post-surgery and the hope that he'd contribute in 2023. Unfortunately, the timeline was longer than expected and the Red Sox do not seem to have a roster spot for him at the upper levels of the minors at this time.

Altavilla has a career 4.03 ERA with a 129-to-60 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .220 batting average against and 1.32 WHIP in 116 innings at the big-league level across 119 games.

He would have been a solid option over the likes of Ryan Brasier, Kaleb Ort or Justin Garza earlier in the season but could not build up in time to contribute.

With eyes on the postseason, it's just too late for the Red Sox to find out if he's still got it.

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Published Aug 17, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu