The Tigers have signed left-hander Jose Alvarez to a minor league contract, per the transactions log at MiLB.com. He won’t pitch this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, though Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press writes that the club will help Alvarez oversee his recovery and rehabilitation with an eye toward the 2024 campaign. Alvarez is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.
The 33-year-old Alvarez is a known commodity to Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris, who was the Giants’ general manager during Alvarez’s two-year stint in San Francisco from 2021-22. He was outstanding for the Giants in ’21, pitching to a 2.37 ERA with a well below-average 15.8% strikeout rate but strong walk and ground-ball rates of 7.1% and 50.5%, respectively. His 2022 season was cut short by arm troubles that led to his subsequent Tommy John surgery, and prior to going on the shelf Alvarez was tagged for an ugly 5.28 ERA.
Alvarez actually made his Major League debut with the Tigers nearly a decade ago, in 2013, but he was tagged for a 5.82 ERA in 38 2/3 innings that season. The Tigers traded him to the Angels in exchange for Andrew Romine the following offseason, and Alvarez would eventually establish himself as a quality big league reliever in Anaheim.
From 2014-21, Alvarez racked up 366 2/3 innings of 3.14 ERA ball with a 20.2% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate, 46.8% grounder rate, 70 holds and three saves. He’s held lefties to a .238/.288/.365 slash in his career, and while righties have posted a strong .270 average and .340 OBP against him, they haven’t hit for much power (.399 slugging, .129 ISO). Alvarez has always thrived in terms of limiting hard contact, yielding just an 86.3 mph average exit velocity and a feeble 30% hard-hit rate dating back to 2015, when Statcast first began tracking such measures. He’s never yielded an average exit velocity of even 87 mph. Last year’s league average was 88.6 mph.
Aha now the Tigers are really to be feared in the Central!
This changes … absolutely nothing.
Wow
He’s actually decent. Tough year last year but otherwise the track record is there.
I’d forgotten all about him as an early Tiger. Looks like the Halos got the better part of that deal.
Good wild card. Doesn’t hurt to see what he’s got after the durgery
Detroit is looking rough. The best thing the owner can do now, is cut payroll, and lower prices. This team feels like it’s D.O.A. to start the season. That’s why they had to get rid of Morris in the booth, because he would have said so. With any luck Baez, and E Rod will opt out or be traded,
Schoop, Miggy, and A Meadows last season here, and Detroit can start the new build in earnest again. Hoping some guys step up this year, and start building something from nothing. Who knows, maybe I got the spring training blues myself, but man they sure are putting me to sleep.
I suppose when you get right down to it, the clock is a good thing this year. Super teams are always fun to watch, and bad ones like Detroit, they can’t get over fast enough. The have not teams like Detroit will also have to be lucky to get a top pick with the lottery, so fans don’t even get that solace right away. Fast games might be the best part of the season in Detroit.
Alvarez got hurt pitching for the Giants, so why aren’t they responsible for his rehab?
Sounds like Harris bought a bill of goods from Junior. He was probably promised all the spending he could dream of and then when his signature was dry, Ilitch stopped taking his calls. Their TV contract blew up, Fetter might be shilling for TJ surgeons, and the “hitting committee” can’t seem to find their ass with both hands. And then there’s Hinch, so the rest of it doesn’t really matter…he’ll be gone by June. Miggy’s farewell season is the selling point and if he somehow goes out like Pujols, we can say it was worth the wait.
I don’t understand why any team would sign a player in the off season that has no chance of playing during the upcoming season. Maybe a superstar, if it’s a multi year contract….. I don’t get it with Alvarez though.
YAWN !!
This guy won’t do anything but sign people he knows to minor league deals. Whether they play or not. He’s not off to a good start. That’s for sure. You shouldn’t need to stand around and look at everything for a year and a half (that amount of time will have passed before he’s “familiar enough” with the players).
The Tigers are experiencing gridlock with all the young players who need a chance, probably because of Al’s personal and personable management style. It’s really hard to.cut guys you are personal freinds with or know personally. Candelario is a really cool guy. Tough to cut him.
I do wish they would have signed one or two tradables.
And no, I do not even know Candelario personally. It was just an example.