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Jose Alvarado

Players Avoiding Arbitration: 1/15/21

By Steve Adams and Connor Byrne | January 15, 2021 at 10:51am CDT

The deadline to exchange arbitration figures is today at 1pm ET. As of this morning, there were 125 arbitration-eligible players who’d yet to agree to terms on their contract for the upcoming 2021 season. Arbitration is muddier than ever before thanks to the shortened 2020 schedule, which most believe will lead to record number of arb hearings this winter. Be that as it may, it’s still reasonable to expect dozens of contractual agreements to filter in over the next couple of hours.

We’ll highlight some of the more high-profile cases in separate posts with more in-depth breakdowns, but the majority of today’s dealings will be smaller-scale increases that don’t radically alter a team’s payroll or a player’s trade candidacy. As such, we’ll just run through most of today’s agreements in this post.

I’ve embedded MLBTR’s 2021 Arbitration Tracker in the post (those in the mobile app or viewing on mobile web will want to turn their phones sideways). Our tracker can be sorted by team, by service time and/or by Super Two status, allowing users to check the status on whichever groups of players they like. You can also check out Matt Swartz’s projected arbitration salaries for this year’s class, and we’ll do a quick sentence on each player’s agreement at the bottom of this post as well, with the most recent agreements sitting atop the list.

Today’s Agreements (chronologically, newest to oldest)

  • Rockies outfielder Raimel Tapia avoided arbitration with a $1.95MM deal, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. The team also reached an agreement for $805K with reliever Robert Stephenson, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
  • The Tigers have deals with infielder Jeimer Candelario ($2.85MM), outfielder JaCoby Jones ($2.65MM) and righty Jose Cisnero ($970K), Chris McCosky of the Detroit News relays.
  • The Yankees and reliever Chad Green settled for $2.15MM, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.
  • The Marlins and lefty Richard Bleier have a deal for $1.425MM, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets.
  • The Dodgers reached a $3.6MM settlement with lefty Julio Urias, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports.
  • The Angels announced a deal with righty Dylan Bundy for $8.325MM.
  • The Tigers and southpaw Matthew Boyd have settled for $6.5MM, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News tweets.
  • The Yankees have deals with catcher Gary Sanchez ($6.35MM), first baseman Luke Voit ($4.7MM), third baseman Gio Urshela ($4.65MM), shortstop Gleyber Torres ($4MM) and outfielder Clint Frazier ($2.1MM), per Jon Heyman of MLB Network and Ken Davidoff of the New York Post.
  • The Rays and outfielder Manuel Margot avoided arbitration with a $3.4MM agreement, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
  • The Padres and outfielder Tommy Pham have a deal for $8.9MM, according to Robert Murray of FanSided. Reliever Dan Altavilla settled for $850K, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com tweets.
  • The Angels and righty Felix Pena have come to terms for $1.1MM, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports.
  • The Red Sox and third baseman Rafael Devers have reached a $4.575MM agreement, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
  • The Mets and outfielder Brandon Nimmo have come to a $4.7MM agreement, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets.
  • The Reds and righty Luis Castillo have settled for $4.2MM, Robert Murray of FanSided relays.
  • The Rays reached a $2.25MM agreement with infielder Joey Wendle and a $1.175MM settlement with righty Yonny Chirinos, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
  • The Cardinals and flamethrowing reliever Jordan Hicks have an agreement for $862,500, according to Heyman.
  • The White Sox and ace Lucas Giolito avoided arbitration with a $4.15MM agreement, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.
  • The Pirates and righty Joe Musgrove have reached an agreement for $4.45MM, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. They also made deals with second/baseman outfielder Adam Frazier ($4.3MM), third baseman Colin Moran ($2.8MM) righty Chad Kuhl ($2.13MM) and lefty Steven Brault ($2.05MM), per reports from Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Adam Berry of MLB.com.
  • Hard-throwing right-hander Reyes Moronta agreed to a $695K deal with the Giants after missing the 2020 season due to shoulder surgery, tweets Robert Murray of Fansided.
  • The Tigers agreed to a $2.1MM deal with infielder Niko Goodrum, tweets Robert Murray of Fansided. They also inked lefty Daniel Norris for a $3.475MM salary, tweets Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.
  • The Pirates agreed to a $1.3MM deal with catcher Jacob Stallings and a $1.1MM deal with righty Chris Stratton, per Robert Murray of Fansided (Twitter links).
  • Athletics right-hander Lou Trivino agreed to a $912,500 salary for the 2021 season, tweets Robert Murray of Fansided.
  • Right-hander Richard Rodriguez and the Pirates agreed to a $1.7MM deal, tweets Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  • Catcher Jorge Alfaro and the Marlins agreed to a $2.05MM deal, tweets Craig Mish of SportsGrid.
  • The Reds agreed to a $2.2MM deal with right-hander Tyler Mahle, tweets Fansided’s Robert Murray. Cincinnati also signed lefty Amir Garrett for $1.5MM, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
  • The Indians agreed to a $2.4MM deal with newly acquired shortstop Amed Rosario and a $975K deal with righty Phil Maton, tweets Zack Meisel of The Athletic.
  • The Tigers and righty Buck Farmer settled at $1.85MM, tweets Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.
  • The Marlins agreed to a $1.9MM deal with right-handed reliever Yimi Garcia, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

Read more

  • The Mariners confirmed their deal with Crawford and announced that catcher Tom Murphy and righty Rafael Montero also agreed to one-year deals. Terms weren’t disclosed, though MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that Montero will be paid $2.25MM.
  • The Phillies and first baseman Rhys Hoskins are in agreement on a $4.8MM salary for the 2021 season, tweets Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
  • The Royals got deals done with shortstop Adalberto Mondesi and right-hander Brad Keller, tweets Alec Lewis of the The Athletic. Mondesi will earn $2.525MM, while Keller gets $3.35MM.
  • The Padres agreed to a $4.2MM deal with breakout starter Dinelson Lamet, tweets Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
  • The Brewers announced that they’ve agreed to one-year deals with starter Brandon Woodruff and closer Josh Hader. Hader’s deal pays him $6.675MM, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Woodruff will earn $3.275MM, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
  • The Rockies and reliever Carlos Estevez agreed to a $1.45MM deal, tweets Robert Murray of Fansided.
  • The D-backs avoided arb with all three of their eligible players, per The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan (Twitter link). They have deals with catcher Carson Kelly, lefty Caleb Smith ($1.465MM) and righty Luke Weaver ($1.950MM).
  • The A’s have agreed to a $6.925MM deal with first baseman/outfielder Mark Canha, tweets Fansided’s Robert Murray. They also signed right-hander Frankie Montas at $1.8MM, Murray adds.
  • Rangers shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa agreed to a $2MM deal for the 2021 season, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
  • Righty Kyle Crick will earn $800K next season with the Pirates, tweets Robert Murray of Fansided.
  • The Tigers agreed to a $1.5MM deal with right-handed reliever Joe Jimenez, tweets Fansided’s Robert Murray.
  • The Angels settled at $6.75MM with left-hander Andrew Heaney, tweets Fansided’s Robert Murray. The Halos also inked catcher Max Stassi at $1.6MM, per Murray.
  • The Braves and lefty A.J. Minter agreed to a $1.3MM deal for 2021, tweets David O’Brien of The Athletic. Lefty Max Fried also inked a $3.5MM deal, tweets O’Brien.
  • The Phillies and newly acquired southpaw Jose Alvarado settled at $1MM, tweets Robert Murray of Fansided.
  • The Indians avoided arbitration with catcher Austin Hedges on a $3.28MM deal, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
  • The Athletics and third baseman Matt Chapman agreed at $6.49MM, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
  • Marlins third baseman Brian Anderson agreed to a $3.8MM salary, tweets SportsGrid’s Craig Mish.
  • Astros righty Lance McCullers Jr. will earn $6.5MM in 2021, tweets Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
  • The Athletics agreed to a $5.95MM deal with lefty Sean Manaea, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
  • Cardinals center fielder Harrison Bader agreed to a $2MM deal, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
  • The Rangers and slugger Joey Gallo settled on a $6.2MM salary, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
  • Athletics righty Chris Bassitt has agreed to a $4.9MM salary for the 2021 season, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
  • The Rockies and infielder Ryan McMahon settled at $2.375MM, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
  • The Orioles and Trey Mancini avoided arb by agreeing to a $4.75MM salary, tweets MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko.
  • The Rays and ace Tyler Glasnow have agreed to a $4MM salary for the 2021 season, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
  • Right-hander Reynaldo Lopez and the White Sox agreed to a $2.1MM salary, tweets Fansided’s Robert Murray.
  • The Reds and outfielder Jesse Winker are in agreement on a $3.15MM deal for the 2021 season, tweets the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bobby Nightengale.
  • Left-hander Kyle Freeland and the Rockies agreed to a one-year deal worth $5.025MM, tweets Robert Murray of Fansided.
  • The Padres and newly acquired catcher Victor Caratini settled at $1.3MM, tweets Fansided’s Robert Murray.
  • The Reds and right-hander/center fielder Michael Lorenzen settled at $4.4375MM, tweets Robert Murray of Fansided.
  • The Blue Jays inked right-hander Ross Stripling to a $3MM deal, tweets Robert Murray of Fansided.
  • Righty Alex Reyes and the Cardinals agreed at $900K, tweets Robert Murray of Fansided.
  • The Astros agreed to a one-year, $3MM deal with utilityman Aledmys Diaz, tweets Fansided’s Robert Murray.
  • Rockies right-hander Jon Gray has agreed to a $6MM contract, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
  • The Blue Jays and outfielder Teoscar Hernandez agreed to a $4.325MM salary for 2021, tweets Fansided’s Robert Murray.
  • The Padres and right-handed reliever Emilio Pagan settled at $1.57MM, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.
  • Shortstop J.P. Crawford agreed to a $2.05MM contract with the Mariners, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
  • The Angels and right-hander Mike Mayers settled on a one-year, $1.2MM salary, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
  • Right-hander Vince Velasquez and the Phillies have agreed to a one-year, $4MM contract, tweets Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
  • The Mets signed righty Robert Gsellman to a one-year, $1.3MM contract to avoid arb, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
  • The Reds agreed to a one-year, $1.175MM deal with right-hander Noe Ramirez, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.
  • The Mets and first baseman/outfielder Dominic Smith are in agreement on a one-year, $2.55MM contract, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.s
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A.J. Minter Adalberto Mondesi Adam Frazier Aledmys Diaz Alex Reyes Amed Rosario Amir Garrett Andrew Heaney Atlanta Braves Austin Hedges Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Brad Keller Brandon Nimmo Brandon Wood Brandon Woodruff Brian Anderson Buck Farmer Caleb Smith Carlos Estevez Carson Kelly Chad Green Chad Kuhl Chicago White Sox Chris Bassitt Chris Stratton Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Indians Clint Frazier Colin Moran Colorado Rockies Dan Altavilla Daniel Norris Detroit Tigers Dinelson Lamet Dominic Smith Dylan Bundy Emilio Pagan Evan Grant Felix Pena Frankie Montas Giovanny Urshela Gleyber Torres Harrison Bader Houston Astros Ian Anderson Isiah Kiner-Falefa J.P. Crawford Jacob Stallings JaCoby Jones Jeimer Candelario Jesse Winker Joe Jimenez Joe Musgrove Joey Gallo Joey Wendle Jon Gray Jordan Hicks Jorge Alfaro Jose Alvarado Jose Cisnero Josh Hader Julio Urias Kansas City Royals Kyle Crick Kyle Freeland Lance McCullers Jr. Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers Lou Trivino Lucas Giolito Luis Castillo Luke Voit Luke Weaver Manuel Margot Mark Canha Matt Boyd Matt Chapman Max Fried Max Stassi Miami Marlins Michael Lorenzen Mike Mayers Milwaukee Brewers New York Mets New York Yankees Niko Goodrum Noe Ramirez Oakland Athletics Oscar Hernandez Phil Maton Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates Rafael Devers Rafael Montero Raimel Tapia Reynaldo Lopez Rhys Hoskins Richard Bleier Richard Rodriguez Robert Gsellman Ross Stripling Ryan McMahon San Diego Padres Sean Manaea Seattle Mariners St. Louis Cardinals Steven Brault Tampa Bay Rays Teoscar Hernandez Texas Rangers Tom Murphy Tommy Pham Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Trey Mancini Tyler Glasnow Tyler Mahle Victor Caratini Yimi Garcia Yonny Chirinos

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Phillies Acquire Jose Alvarado In Three-Team Trade With Rays, Dodgers

By Mark Polishuk | December 29, 2020 at 10:59pm CDT

The Rays, Phillies, and Dodgers are in combination on a three-team deal, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter links).  As part of the swap, left-hander Jose Alvarado will go from the Rays to the Phillies, and minor league first baseman Dillon Paulson and a player to be named later or cash considerations will go from the Dodgers to Tampa Bay.  The Phils announced that left-hander Garrett Cleavinger has been sent to Los Angeles to complete the Dodgers’ end of the trade.

Alvarado is the most well-known name involved, and the southpaw will join a Philadelphia bullpen that posted dire numbers in 2020.  At his best during four seasons in Tampa, Alvarado was a major weapon for the Rays, most notably during a 2018 season that saw him post a 2.39 ERA and 11.3 K/9 over 64 relief innings and 70 games.

Injuries limited Alvarado in both 2019 and 2020, however, as he managed only a 5.08 ERA, 1.58 K/BB rate and 39 innings.  While Alvarado still missed a lot of bats to the tune of a 12.0 K/9, a lack of control (7.6 BB/9) counter-acted those punchouts.  Shoulder inflammation limited Alvarado to only nine regular-season innings in 2020, but he was able to return for the ALCS and toss 1 2/3 scoreless innings to contribute to the Rays’ victory over the Astros.

Alvarado is still only 25 years old and is controllable for three seasons via the arbitration process, so the Phillies are hoping there’s plenty of upside left.  Beyond a general need for any sort of bullpen help, Philadelphia was also particularly short on left-handers, so Alvarado immediately becomes the club’s top southpaw option.  Alvarado has been just about equally good against left-handed (career .600 OPS) and right-handed (.622 OPS) batters during his four MLB seasons.

In moving Alvarado, the Rays open up a 40-man roster spot that was needed for the completion of the Blake Snell trade with the Padres, so that deal could be officially announced soon.  There is also a financial element to the swap from Tampa Bay’s end, as Alvarado was projected to earn roughly $1.05MM in his first year of arbitration eligibility.

Cleavinger made his MLB debut in 2020, tossing two-thirds of an inning in a single appearances for Philadelphia.  A third-round pick for the Orioles in the 2015 draft, Cleavinger was dealt to the Phillies as part of the Jeremy Hellickson trade in July 2017.  Working exclusively as a reliever throughout his pro career, Cleavinger has a 4.08 ERA, 2.26 K/BB rate, and 12.0 K/9 over 220 1/3 innings in the Baltimore and Philadelphia farm system, though he has never pitched at the Triple-A level.

Paulson was a 13th-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2018 draft, and the USC product has hit .253/.373/.464 over 778 plate appearances during his brief pro career, reaching the high-A level in 2019.

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Rays Add Brett Phillips, Ryan Sherriff To World Series Roster

By Steve Adams | October 20, 2020 at 11:16am CDT

The Rays have set their roster for their upcoming World Series showdown with the National League Champion Dodgers. They’ll carry mostly the same group of players that toppled the Astros in a riveting seven-game American League Championship Series, with a few notable changes. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that outfielder Brett Phillips and left-handed reliever Ryan Sherriff have both been added to the roster, taking the spots of right-hander Aaron Slegers and lefty Jose Alvarado.

Here’s how the roster breaks down:

Right-Handed Pitchers

  • Nick Anderson
  • Diego Castillo
  • John Curtiss
  • Pete Fairbanks
  • Tyler Glasnow
  • Charlie Morton 
  • Ryan Thompson

Left-Handed Pitchers

  • Josh Fleming
  • Aaron Loup
  • Shane McClanahan
  • Ryan Sherriff
  • Blake Snell (Game 1 starter)
  • Ryan Yarbrough

Catchers

  • Michael Pérez
  • Mike Zunino

Infielders

  • Willy Adames
  • Mike Brosseau
  • Ji-Man Choi
  • Yandy Díaz
  • Brandon Lowe
  • Joey Wendle

Outfielders

  • Randy Arozarena
  • Kevin Kiermaier
  • Manuel Margot
  • Austin Meadows
  • Brett Phillips
  • Hunter Renfroe
  • Yoshi Tsutsugo

Unlike the Division Series and League Championship Series, the World Series has a pair of off-days built into the schedule, which likely contributed heavily to Tampa Bay’s decision to carry an extra position player in the final round of play. In Phillips, they’ll add a rocket-armed and fleet-footed reserve outfielder who can provide some speed off the bench and a defensive upgrade late in games. Phillips tallied just 59 plate appearances in 2020 between the Royals and Rays, hitting .196/.305/.392. He was six-for-seven in stolen bases, however, and has developed a penchant for making highlight-reel throws from the outfield with an arm that regularly drew 70 grades and even a few 80 grades on scouting reports.

The 30-year-old Sherriff returned from a lengthy absence due to Tommy John surgery to give the Rays 9 2/3 shutout frames during the regular season. He has a limited Major League track record, having pitched a bit for the Cardinals previously. Sherriff only struck out two hitters in those 9 2/3 innings, but he also recorded a hefty 56.7 percent ground-ball rate. In all, he has a 2.73 ERA with a 20-to-8 K/BB ratio and a 60.4 percent grounder rate in 29 2/3 Major League innings.

Alvarado was added to the ALCS roster after sitting out the Wild Card and ALDS rounds. He’d been sidelined by a shoulder issue since mid-August prior to that point, and he’ll now be swapped out for Sherriff, it seems. Alvarado tossed 1 2/3 scoreless frames against the Astros but did walk three of the five batters he faced in his second appearance. Slegers has allowed just one run in five innings to this point in the postseason after giving the Rays 26 frames of 3.46 ERA/3.04 FIP ball during the regular season.

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Rays Reinstate Jose Alvarado From Injured List, Designate Oliver Drake

By Mark Polishuk | October 11, 2020 at 12:45pm CDT

The Rays have added left-hander Jose Alvarado to their roster for the ALCS, activating the southpaw from the 45-day injured list, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter link).  To create roster space, right-hander Oliver Drake was designated for assignment.

Alvarado last pitched on August 14, as inflammation in his throwing shoulder ended up sidelining the lefty for much of the season.  Alvarado only pitched nine innings over nine games for Tampa Bay, posting a 6.00 ERA and recording 13 strikeouts against six walks.  It marked the second straight abbreviated year for Alvarado, who was limited to 30 innings in 2019 due to injuries and an absence for family reasons.

Clearly, however, the Rays feel comfortable that Alvarado is now ready and able to contribute in their quest for the American League pennant.  When healthy in 2018, Alvarado was a dominant force in Tampa’s bullpen, posting a 2.39 ERA, 11.3 K/9, and 2.76 K/BB rate over 64 innings.  Alvarado dominated both right-handed and left-handed batters that season, but he has some far more drastic splits in 2019-20.  Though the idea of a lefty specialist has been somewhat mitigated by the new three-batter rule, the Rays could perhaps try as best they can to position Alvarado against only left-handed bats.

Drake suffered a right flexor tendon strain during the ALDS that led to his removal from the active roster, and he could now be left off Tampa’s roster entirely depending on his trip through DFA limbo.  Drake posted a 5.73 ERA, 1.17 K/BB rate, and 5.7 K/9 over 11 innings this season, and since he is eligible for his second trip through arbitration this winter, the designation could be the Rays’ way of getting a planned non-tender out of the way early.  In 2019, Drake was a very effective reliever for the Rays, with a 3.21 ERA, 11.3 K/9, 52.3% grounder rate, and 3.68 K/BB rate over 56 innings.

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Jose Alvarado Oliver Drake Tampa Bay Rays Transactions

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Rays Activate Nick Anderson, Move Jose Alvarado To 45-Day IL

By Connor Byrne | September 4, 2020 at 3:26pm CDT

The Rays announced that they’ve reinstated reliever Nick Anderson from the 10-day injured list and outfielder Brett Phillips from the COVID-19 IL. The team also moved left-hander Jose Alvarado to the 45-day IL and optioned fellow southpaw Ryan Sherriff to its alternate site.

The Rays dodged a major injury with Anderson, who went on the IL on Aug. 23 with inflammation in his right forearm. The Rays continued to roll without Anderson, though, and at 26-12, they own a comfortable five-game lead over the Blue Jays and Yankees in the American League East. Still, they’ll be glad to welcome back the valuable Anderson, who broke out a year ago between the Marlins and Rays and has remained among the game’s top relievers this season. Anderson hasn’t allowed a run through 9 1/3 innings in 2020 and has posted 15 strikeouts against a single walk.

While Anderson’s comeback is welcome news for the Rays’ bullpen, it’s unfortunate for the club that it will go without Alvarado through the end of the regular season. The hard-throwing 25-year-old landed on the IL on Aug. 15 with shoulder inflammation, ending a second straight limited season of mediocre production for the reliever. Alvarado was terrific for the Rays from 2017-18 (especially in the second of those seasons), but he has only logged 39 innings of 5.08 ERA/4.55 FIP pitching with 12.0 K/9 and 7.62 BB/9 dating back to 2019.

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Rays Place Jose Alvarado On 10-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | August 18, 2020 at 4:12pm CDT

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.

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Rays Place Charlie Morton On 10-Day Injured List

By Steve Adams | August 10, 2020 at 9:02pm CDT

9:02pm: Rays manager Kevin Cash said he’s optimistic Morton will return when he’s eligible Aug. 20, Eduardo E. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.

10:03am: The Rays have placed right-hander Charlie Morton on the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his right shoulder, the team announced Monday morning. Lefty Jose Alvarado was reinstated from the paternity list in a corresponding move.

Morton, 36, exited Sunday’s outing after just two innings due to fatigue in his shoulder. The veteran righty said after the game that he wasn’t concerned with missing much time, but the organization clearly felt there was at least a need for a short-term reset. It’s been a tough start to the year for Morton, who has seen his fastball velocity dip by about two miles per hour as he’s worked to a 5.40 ERA in his first 16 2/3 frames.

Morton is still missing bats and throwing strikes, but his ground-ball rate has plummeted from 48.2 percent a year ago to 34 percent in 2020. With the uptick in fly balls has come an uptick in home runs; Morton yielded just 15 long balls in 194 2/3 frames in 2019 (0.69 HR/9) but has surrendered three so far in 2020 (1.62 HR/9).

The 2020 season is the second of Morton’s two-year, $30MM contract with Tampa Bay. He justified the cost of the contract — and then some — in year one of the deal alone, when he pitched to a 3.05 ERA and finished third in AL Cy Young voting. The Rays have an option over Morton for the 2021 season, and that option will now become quite interesting, depending on how long the right-hander is sidelined. The value of Morton’s option is tied to time spent on the injured list — which he avoided entirely in 2019. The option would settle at $15MM with fewer than 30 days on the IL between 2019-20 but could still drop to $10MM or even $5MM if he misses substantial time. (The option could’ve also landed at $3MM or $1MM, but that would’ve only happened had he missed considerable time in both seasons of the deal.)

Major League Baseball and the Players Association reached an agreement last month to prorate the qualifiers needed to unlock roster bonuses, vesting options, etc. As such, the 30-day figure that Morton would’ve needed to come in shy of is also prorated. An exact 10-day stint on the IL would still leave his option price at that $15MM mark, but if he misses even a couple days more than that, the value of his option would drop to $10MM. MLBTR confirmed as much earlier this year.

The Rays would open themselves up to a potential grievance if Morton’s camp felt he was being kept on the injured list just to drive down the value of his 2020 option, although the velocity drop and shoulder fatigue could certainly be used as justification for their decision. For now, it’ll be telling to simply see how long Morton remains shelved and whether any further diagnosis is provided.

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Rays Select Sean Gilmartin

By Steve Adams | August 7, 2020 at 1:25pm CDT

The Rays announced Friday that they’ve placed lefty Jose Alvarado on the paternity list and selected the contract of fellow left-hander Sean Gilmartin from their alternate training site. A 40-man roster spot was opened by reinstating outfielder Manuel Margot from the bereavement list and placing him on the Covid-19-related injured list so that he can undergo mandatory intake testing. It should be noted that there’s no indication of a positive test or any symptoms for Margot; this is merely standard protocol after Margot left the team earlier this week following the death of his father.

Gilmartin, 30, has pitched in the big leagues in each of the past five seasons — albeit just 2 1/3 frames with the Orioles in 2019. The Braves selected him with the No. 28 pick back in 2011, and he’s since bounced around the league in a series of trades, a Rule 5 pick and waiver claims.

Back in 2015, the Mets looked wise to have plucked Gilmartin out of the Twins organization in the 2014 Rule 5 Draft. He stuck with the club all season and gave the Mets 57 2/3 innings of 2.67 ERA ball with a strong 54-to-18 K/BB ratio and just two home runs allowed. Outside of that rookie season, however, success in the Majors has been hard to come by.

In the four years since that time, Gilmartin has pitched to a combined 5.90 ERA and 6.46 FIP, averaging just 5.5 strikeouts and 3.8 walks per nine innings pitched. Gilmartin’s home-run and walk rates have ballooned as his strikeout rate has dipped. He’ll hope to reverse those trends with the Rays, but it’s also possible that his stay with the club will be rather abbreviated, as Alvarado should return to the Rays in just a few days.

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Jose Alvarado Heading Back To Injured List

By Dylan A. Chase | August 25, 2019 at 9:35am CDT

Sunday: Alvarado felt the injury after yesterday’s game, not on any specific pitch during the contest, he tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He’ll undergo an MRI Monday, Topkin adds. The team confirmed his IL placement today, calling his injury “left elbow inflammation.”

Saturday, 9:33 pm: Topkin confirms the move, adding that infielder Joey Wendle will return to the active roster on Sunday to take Alvarado’s place (Twitter link). Specifics on Alvarado’s injury are still forthcoming. 

Saturday, 9:02 pm:
 Rays manager Kevin Cash told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that reliever Jose Alvarado is heading for the injured list once again after the lefty complained of elbow pain following Tampa’s 7-1 loss to Baltimore today (Twitter link). Alvarado was previously activated from the injured list on Aug. 13 after missing time with an oblique strain.

The tides of injury are currently running against the Rays, who recently lost key infielder Brandon Lowe for the rest of the season. Now, this report indicates that Cash will again be without the services of one of his more imposing bullpen arms.

Though Alvarado hasn’t been battle-tested enough to be called a bullpen stalwart, his left arm features a blazing fastball that Cash has felt comfortable deploying against both same-sided and right-handed batters this year. His healthy 12.6% Swinging Strike rate hints at the effectiveness of his 98 mph sinker and his nearly untouched cutter, the latter of which has induced a .080 BA when used against opposing hitters this year. Alvarado had amassed just 3.0 scoreless innings this second-half following his return from injury, and now, ominously, comes this news of an ailing elbow. The lefty had been used as the “opener” in tonight’s game–an appearance which, possibly due to injury, saw Alvarado unleash two wild pitches en route to an ineffective .1 IP of work.

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Rays Activate Jose Alvarado

By Connor Byrne | August 13, 2019 at 4:01pm CDT

The Rays have reinstated left-hander Jose Alvarado from the injured list and optioned righty Austin Pruitt to Triple-A Durham, the team announced.

Alvarado’s back after missing over a month with a right oblique strain, which has sidelined him since July 6. It’s generally been a trying summer for the 24-year-old Alvarado, who previously missed almost all of June after going on the restricted list because of a family issue. Alvarado had been amid a solid season over its first couple months, as he held a 3.09 ERA as of June 1. While Alvarado has only taken the ball four times since then, opposing offenses have inflicted significant damage to his numbers. He’s now the owner of a 5.06 ERA through 26 2/3 innings on the year.

Alvarado, to his credit, has posted a respectable 3.78 FIP, notched 11.48 K/9 and averaged 98.5 mph on his fastball. But he still hasn’t been the force he was last year, a 64-inning campaign in which Alvarado recorded a 2.39 ERA/2.27 FIP with 11.25 K/9, 4.08 BB/9 and a 55 percent groundball rate. Alvarado’s grounder percentage has shrunk to 45.6 this season, which has helped lead to a notable increase in home runs. After allowing HRs on a meager 2.4 percent of fly balls in 2018, he’s up to 9.5 this year.

Despite Alvarado’s difficult and shortened season, the Rays continue to own a playoff spot in the American League, where they have a two-game lead on the last wild-card position. Alvarado had spent time as their closer earlier this year, but righty Emilio Pagan has been successful in that role in recent weeks.

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