AUG. 18: Alvarado visited a doctor in New York on Monday, and the Rays will shut him down from throwing for 10 to 14 days, manager Kevin Cash announced (Twitter links via Juan Toribio of MLB.com and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). Alvarado appears to have a lat strain, per Cash.
AUG. 15: The Rays have placed southpaw Jose Alvarado on the 10-day injured list due to shoulder inflammation. Right-hander Aaron Slegers was called up to take Alvarado’s place in Tampa’s bullpen.
Alvarado has a 6.00 ERA over nine innings for the Rays this season, with much of that damage stemming from a tough outing (four earned runs in two-thirds of an inning) last night against the Blue Jays. Alvarado also recorded two walks and two strikeouts during that brief appearance, upping his season numbers to a 6.0 BB/9 and a 13.0 K/9.
A return to the IL is troublesome for Alvarado considering he already missed quite a bit of time during the 2019 season. Alvarado was limited to 30 innings pitched due to an oblique injury, elbow soreness, and also attending to a family medical situation for almost a month. It’s fair to say these issues contributed to Alvarado’s career-high 4.80 ERA in 2019, as he has previously delivered much better results during the 2017-18 campaigns — a 2.79 ERA over 93 2/3 frames out of the Rays’ pen, with a 10.5 K/9, and 2.87 K/BB rate.
Rays bullpen can’t catch a break
Pretty much insert any team name and “can’t catch a break” . There’s so many injuries this season that injuries shouldn’t be an excuse, and this is coming from a Braves fan.
Might be the reason for that rough outing last night.
He needs to lose some weight and get in better shape. Carrying that extra weight can throw pitching mechanics off, putting extra stress on other parts of the body.
Man, he was downright scary last game against the Jays. Had no idea where anything was going.