Journeyman Nittoli gets first MLB callup
Vinny Nittoli finally got the call.
Nittoli, a 30-year-old whose journey has spanned the Minors, independent ball and the Mexican Winter League, earned his first big league callup, the team announced Friday.
“He’s had a journey,” said manager Scott Servais. “All you guys love to tell the stories, so you’ll have plenty to talk about when he gets on the mound.”
For Nittoli, who was drafted by the Mariners in the 25th round of the 2014 Draft out of Xavier University, it’s been a full-circle moment.
The right-hander spent the first three seasons of his professional career in the lower rungs of the Mariners' Minor League system, where he put up solid, albeit unspectacular, numbers. Following the 2016 season, Nittoli was let go by the organization before making it to Double-A. The prospects of making the big leagues had seemingly vanished.
Instead of hanging up his cleats, though, Nittoli continued to grind.
In 2017 and 2018, he played for the St. Paul Saints of the American Association, posting a 3.28 ERA across 74 innings as both a starter and reliever. During the 2018-19 winter, he played for Aguilas de Mexicali of the Mexican Winter League, where he posted a 1.88 ERA in five starts. Nittoli, indeed, still had plenty of juice.
Following his successful stints in independent and winter ball, Nittoli made his way back to the Minors in 2019, spending a month in the D-backs' system with Triple-A Reno, before being released after allowing 19 earned runs in 18 innings. But he was shortly picked up by the Blue Jays and assigned to Double-A New Hampshire. The right-hander found his stride with the Fisher Cats, posting a solid 3.80 ERA and 3.15 FIP across 42 2/3 innings.
The dream was still alive.
Nittoli, like many Minor Leaguers, didn’t pitch in 2020 and was granted free agency in the fall. He shortly signed a Minor League deal with Seattle. Even after all of the various spaces and places that this journey took Nittoli, the road led back to the Mariners.
Nittoli took advantage of his opportunity with Triple-A Tacoma, posting a 3.50 ERA and 2.95 FIP across 18 innings, despite playing in the high-octane offensive environment of Triple-A West, formerly known as the Pacific Coast League.
The Mariners will certainly need Nittoli’s services in the coming days. On Thursday, the Mariners had to use five relievers following an early exit from Justin Dunn, who was placed on the 10-day injured list.
Since the beginning of June, Mariners relievers have combined to throw 63 1/3 innings, tied for the third-most in baseball this month. Without Dunn to help eat up innings in a starting role and the bullpen already dealing with several injuries, the Mariners will need all the support possible.
Nittoli’s ability to eat multiple innings will help that cause. Of Nittoli’s 11 appearances with Triple-A Tacoma, six spanned multiple innings. Even dating back to 2019 to his time in the D-backs and Blue Jays organizations, Nittoli was predominantly used in multi-inning outings.
“He’s got a good arm,” Servais said. “He’s got a really good slider. He’s had very good numbers, a lot of success. At the Triple-A level, it’s hard to have success pitching in the Triple-A West now.”