The Twins reached a minor league deal with reliever Dan Altavilla, reports Franycs Romero. The MAS+ Agency client will presumably receive a non-roster invite to MLB Spring Training.
Altavilla spent the 2025 campaign with the White Sox. He was released in September despite tossing 29 innings of 2.49 ERA ball on the season. Altavilla’s 17.5% strikeout rate and 12.5% walk percentage were each far worse than the respective league averages. He only missed bats on 9.6% of his offerings. The Sox didn’t intend to offer him a contract for his final season of arbitration, so they dropped him from the roster a few weeks before the end of the year.
The 33-year-old Altavilla has appeared in parts of eight big leagues seasons between four teams. He’d only made seven combined appearances between 2021-24 before this year’s return run in Chicago. His 28 appearances were the second most of his career, trailing only the 41 games in which he pitched for the 2017 Mariners. Altavilla has a four-pitch mix led by a 96-97 MPH fastball. He didn’t miss many bats but got ground-balls at a strong 51.3% clip this past season.
Minnesota is a good landing spot for a depth reliever. The Twins dealt away most of their established bullpen arms at the deadline. Their only MLB acquisition thus far has been righty Eric Orze, whom they picked up from the Rays in a small trade as Tampa Bay created roster space to keep prospects out of the Rule 5 draft. The Twins should add a couple low-cost free agent relievers.
Justin Topa, Cole Sands and Kody Funderburk are probably the only pitchers locked into Opening Day bullpen roles. Topa is the only reliever on the 40-man roster who cannot be optioned. Altavilla would fit into that bucket as well by virtue of having five-plus years of service. If the Twins add him to the roster at any point, they wouldn’t be able to send him to Triple-A without his consent.