Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today the following roster moves.
Altavilla, 24, will be in his fourth stint with Seattle this season. Overall, he is 1-1 with a 5.46 ERA (18 ER, 29.2 IP) with 36 strikeouts and 14 walks in 29 relief appearances during his previous three stretches with the Mariners: April 3-21, May 6-10 and May 14 - July 3. The 5-foot-11, 210-pound right-hander has held opponents scoreless in 19-of-his-29 outings. He has allowed 20 runs (18 earned runs) over 11.0 innings of work in the other 10 games, including 5 outings of at least 2 runs allowed and 3 outings of 3-or-more runs allowed. Over his final four appearances (6/24-7/3) prior to being optioned to Tacoma, he did not give up a run, allowing just 1 hit and 2 walks while striking out 3 in 3.2 innings pitched. After being recalled from AAA Tacoma on May 6, he posted a 4.84 ERA (12 ER, 22.1 IP) with 26 strikeouts and 8 walks in 20 games. In his first stint with Seattle (through April 21), he was 1-1 with a 7.36 ERA (6 ER, 7.1 IP) with 10 strikeouts and 6 walks in 9 relief appearances. He earned his first career Major League win on April 6 at Houston, striking out 3 while giving up 1 hit in 1.0 scoreless inning of work.
Altavilla is 1-0 with 6 saves and a 1.61 ERA (4 ER, 22.1 IP) in 19 games overall with Tacoma, including posting a 1-0 mark with 6 saves and a 1.08 ERA (2 ER, 16.2 IP) in 15 games since being optioned to Tacoma on July 3. He has limited opposing hitters to a .186 batting average against, and struck out 26 while walking 12.
The native of McKeesport, PA, made his Major League debut with Seattle last season on Aug. 27 at Chicago-AL. He did not allow a run in 15 games (12.1 IP) with the Mariners while striking out 10 and walking 1. In parts of 4 minor league seasons in the Mariners organization, he is 19-18 with 22 saves and a 3.53 ERA (115 ER, 293.1 IP) with 298 strikeouts and 121 walks. He was originally drafted by Seattle in the 5th round of the 2014 MLB Draft out of Mercyhurst (PA) College.
Zych, 26, is 6-3 with 1 save and a 2.66 ERA (12 ER, 40.2 IP) in 45 games with Seattle this season. He's held opponents scoreless in 35 of his 45 appearances, and has allowed more than 1 run in only 1 game this season. He began the year on the disabled list (recovering from off-season surgery) and made two rehab appearances with AAA Tacoma, tossing 1.1 innings. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound right-hander underwent right shoulder biceps tendon transfer surgery on Oct. 11, 2016. The surgery, which did not involve the rotator cuff or capsule in the shoulder, was performed by Dr. Stephen O'Brien in New York, NY.
Zych went 1-0 with a 3.29 ERA (5 ER, 13.2 IP) with 21 strikeouts in 12 outings with the Mariners last season. He earned his first Major League win on April 21 at Cleveland, tossing a scoreless 9th inning in a 10-7, 10-inning victory. The native of Hazel Crest, IL, was placed on the 15-day disabled list on May 3 (retroactive to May 2) last year before being transferred to the 60-day DL on June 24. He made 4 rehab appearances, including 2 starts, with the AZL Mariners, AA Jackson and AAA Tacoma before being activated from the DL on Aug. 23. Zych made two appearances with the Mariners before being optioned to AAA Tacoma on Aug. 24. He made 1 appearance with the Rainiers and was placed on the 7-day DL with a right shoulder strain. Zych, who has appeared in parts of 2 Major League seasons with the Mariners, was acquired by Seattle from Chicago-NL in a minor league trade for cash considerations on April 2, 2015.