Ex-Mariners, Padres reliever who played for Italy at WBC leaves Royals

The Kansas City Royals lost bullpen depth on Wednesday. An eight-year veteran reliever opted out of his minor league contract with the AL Central club. According to the New York Post's Jon Heyman, right-hander Dan Altavilla has opted out of his minor league deal with the Royals and is now a free agent. Altavilla, 33, signed with the Royals in May. He made five appearances for Kansas City in 2024, but has not appeared in the Majors this season. Altavilla opts out of Royals dealAltavilla posted a 2.48 ERA in 29 innings with the Chicago White Sox in 2025, and he was a key arm for Team Italy this past March at the World Baseball Classic. At Triple-A Omaha, Altavilla allowed 5.11 earned runs per nine innings and struck out just 17 batters in 24.2 innings. MORE: Tigers receive lousy grade for Ta