The Phillies announced they have picked up the club option on left-handed pitcher José Alvarado. The reliever will make $9MM next season.
Alvarado signed a three-year, $22MM extension ahead of the 2023 season. The $9MM club option for 2026 included a $500,000 buyout, though it didn’t seem likely that Philadelphia would go that route. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said as much a couple of weeks back. Alvarado’s performance over the past few seasons would’ve made him one of the most enticing lefty relievers on the market. The Phillies will retain him at a relative bargain.
Alvarado and his 99 mph sinker posted solid results this past season. He had a strong 28.1% strikeout rate while showcasing impressive control. Alvarado’s 6.1% walk rate was the best of his career. It was his first year under 11% since his MLB debut with Tampa Bay in 2017. Alvarado’s 2.96 xFIP and 2.87 SIERA suggest he performed better than his 3.81 ERA. Perhaps the only factor that would bring picking up his team option into question was an 80-game PED suspension handed down in mid-May. Alvarado returned to the club for eight appearances before going down with a forearm strain. He was ineligible for the postseason due to the suspension, though he may not have been available anyway due to the injury.
Philadelphia acquired Alvarado via trade in December 2020. The three-team deal sent fellow lefty reliever Garrett Cleavinger from the Phillies to the Dodgers. Alvarado pitched to a 4.20 ERA in his first year with the team, with an untenable 18.7% walk rate leading to uneven results. He got the command in check the following season, while his strikeout rate exploded. Alvarado punched out 37.9% of hitters in 2022, the best mark of his career to date. A career-worst .340 batting average on balls in play pushed his ERA to 3.18, but a 2.37 SIERA was more representative of his dominance that season.
Alvarado had his best season from a run prevention perspective in 2023. He posted a career-best 1.74 ERA across 41 1/3 innings. Opposing batters hit just .195 against Alvarado. He maintained a strikeout rate above 37%, while trimming his walk rate to 10.5%. Alvarado entered the closing mix on a more regular basis that season, earning 10 saves after totaling just seven in his first two years with the team.
The 2024 campaign saw Alvarado set a new career high with 13 saves. He topped 60 innings for the first time since 2018. The strikeout numbers fell off, however, with Alvarado punching out just over a batter per inning. His 4.09 ERA was supported by a 3.83 SIERA. Alvarado allowed two earned runs in his lone postseason appearance, which came against the Mets in the NLDS.
Philadelphia acquired Jhoan Duran at the 2025 trade deadline to serve as its closer. Alvarado will be in the setup mix with Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering for the upcoming season. The Phillies ranked 20th in bullpen ERA this past year, though they were 11th after adding Duran.
After the season he just had.
Thats a surprise
Would’ve preferred they re-negotiate for a bit less, but bringing him back is a good idea.
How do you suppose the Phillies do that?
A lesser two year deal
Yeah, something like 2/7 AAV
That would’ve meant two things
1. They’d pay him the $500k buyout
2. They’d open the bidding to 29 other teams
There just aren’t a lot of guys out there that can do what Alvarado can when he’s healthy. It’s a good investment because he would undoubtedly get more than 2 yrs/$14M on the open market.
$9MM isn’t worth what he provides, in my opinion. Kinda surprised, especially after Philly boosted their pen with Duran this season.
Waste of limited resources for reasons that go beyond Duran, IMO.
They apparently think he’ll return to his 2022-23 form. I would have rather put the money towards bringing back any of their other free agents.
Look at the left handed reliever options in FA and tell me how many you’d put ahead of Alvarado.
He’s better than Soto and he’ll probably command a multi-year deal around the same rate
Given the price of back of the pen options, an effective 1 year / $9M deal is just fine. They know him better than anyone, and know if he is healthy right now. An easy decision for a strong contender.
🎯
9m is cheap for a solid bullpen arm.
A steroid user who ended the season with a forearm injury is not what I would call a solid bullpen arm.
So, I’m thinking the Phillies front office didn’t call you in for a confab…
Correct. All I am saying is that the Phils are taking an 8.5M high risk gamble when those funds could have been directed elsewhere. Hot bullpen arms are usually available at the deadline; starters can move to the pen in the postseason. If Middleton is telling DD the budget limit is sky high, then it’s a great move. If not…..maybe not so great.
From all appearances, Middleton and Dumbrowski are on the same page; so they’re both comfortable with this move.
*Dombrowski
I think that some fail to take into account that all of these player moves have risk, and bullpen arms are at the high end of that measure.
These guys know that if Jose is performing at his higher level, then $9M is cheap. Folks should check the price of high end relief arms out there – just about any one year deal is hard to make a fuss over.
This was a smart play; if he had ongoing arm issues of real concern then they would not have exercised the option.
Ugh. I know, I know, it makes sense.
Still, ugh.
Ok, MLB teams… I’ll ship you this guy with a slice of casty for a SP prospect in AA or whatever. possible 2027-28 mlb potential.
it be a win win for the mehhh the meeeaagghhh… the guys who have toto…I mean…I’d take Minter or Parada. Food for thought.
The deadline is so expensive for relievers that a team with money like the Phils expecting to be a contender is smart to do this move for Alvarado. Otherwise you are paying a premium for a reliever at the deadline that very possibly isn’t as good as him.
100% agree. Prospect wealth is extremely valuable. Much better to potentially overpay a high leverage arm by a couple million than weaken the farm system.