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Jose Alvarado

AL Notes: Yankees, Orioles, Rays

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The Yankees bullpen has been a consistent source of strength for this iteration of Bronx contender, and it should continue to be even with one-time rock Dellin Betances now in Flushing, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. Aroldis Chapman remains one of the most feared closers in the game. He’ll be buttressed by Tommy Kahnle, Zack Britton, Adam Ottavino in the late innings, while Chad Green and Luis Cessa ought to continue in their swing roles. Of course, the biggest addition to the bullpen should be Gerrit Cole, whose length will take some pressure off a bullpen unit that’s largely been expected to carry the Yanks in recent seasons. Still, there’s some room for someone from the group of Jonathan Holder, Jonathan Loaisiga, Brooks Kriske, Michael King, Ben Heller, and Jordan Montgomery to step up and earn a role.

  • The Orioles are set to have close to 66 players invited to camp this spring, and they’re not capping the number there, per MASN’s Roch Kubatko. Manager Brandon Hyde is excited about having a competitive atmosphere in his second season on the job. Baltimore has more opportunity than most camps with few set roles on their 25-man roster. For those interested in wide-open camp battles, this is the one to watch.
  • Jose Alvarado is the man to watch in Rays’ camp, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Alvarado can be a difference-maker in the Rays’ bullpen, but he’s coming off an uneven season. Elbow inflammation ended his 2019 early, but his season had derailed long prior. A strong first two months better represents what the Rays expect from Alvarado, who continued to miss bats all season long, even when his command faltered (8.1 BB/9). Alvarado certainly has the potential to be a big piece in an impressive Rays bullpen, but he’ll have to earn his place. Nick Anderson and Emilio Pagan emerged as lockdown options for Tampa, but Alvarado can and should be their primary lefty again. Topkin offers a quote from Rays’ pitching coach Kyle Snyder, who said, “He very easily could be as good as any reliever in the game (this) year. That’s the thing.”

Jose Alvarado Heading Back To Injured List

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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.

Rays Activate Jose Alvarado

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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.

Pitcher Notes: Kluber, Stripling, Alvarado

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Indians fans will be relieved to hear that Corey Kluber was back to throwing darts at Progressive Field again on Saturday–even if Kluber’s teammates weren’t set to take the field for several hours. Before Cleveland’s game with the Angels today, the decorated hurler threw roughly 35 pitches in a simulated game setting, according to a report from Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. While facing three batters from the organization’s Double-A Akron affiliate, Kluber was able to get his fastball up to 89 mph, which manager Terry Francona saw as encouraging progress. “I was kinda surprised [Kluber] was actually at that point, just because [of] the lack of what he’s been doing for three months,” Francona told reporters. Kluber has been sidelined since May 1st with a non-displaced fracture to his arm’s ulna bone–an injury he suffered when struck by a comebacker off the bat of Miami’s Brian Anderson. After the Progressive session, Francona said Kluber would start his rehab assignment in the minors on Thursday.

More hurler hat tips from around the web…

  • Dodgers righty Ross Stripling was also seen on the mend today, as a “max effort” bullpen session didn’t seem to produce any pain in his injured neck and biceps, according to Orange County Register writer Bill Plunkett (Twitter link). Manager Dave Roberts later told Plunkett that Stripling would make an appearance with the club’s affiliate in Rancho Cucamonga on Tuesday, with the team still uncertain of his post-activation role on the roster (link). Of course, the Texas A&M product has shown comfort in his career thus far in both bullpen and starting roles: since his debut in 2016, Stripling has posted a 3.24 ERA in 125 career relief innings, contrasted with a respectable 3.70 ERA in 248 starting frames.
  • Sidelined Rays reliever Jose Alvarado told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that he will likely rejoin his team next weekend for a slate of games against the Mariners, after completing two scheduled rehab appearances with Tampa affiliates (Twitter link). Juan Toribio of MLB.com further elucidates that Alvarado (oblique) will pitch tomorrow for High-A Charlotte–welcome news for a Rays team that has been without the strikeout-inducing arm of Alvarado since July 7th. The Tampa pen unit has pitched well in the last week following a rough July, but would surely benefit from the inclusion of Alvarado into a mix that was augmented greatly by the team’s moves at the MLB trade deadline.

Rays’ Jose Alvarado Likely Out Six To Eight Weeks

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July 8: The outlook on Alvarado is worse than originally anticipated. Topkin tweets that following an MRI and a meeting with a doctor yesterday, the Rays expect Alvardo to be sidelined for anywhere from six to eight weeks.

Tampa Bay is facing a stretch of games that’ll prove pivotal to determining their level of aggression as the trade deadline approaches. The loss of Alvarado for such a substantial chunk of time will surely play into that calculus between now and July 31, as their need for ’pen reinforcements is now even more acute.

July 6: According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter links), Rays lefty Jose Alvarado has suffered an oblique injury that could keep him sidelined for the next 2-6 weeks. Alvarado was pulled from today’s game against the Yankees after wincing on the follow-through of his final pitch.

Alvarado, 24, hasn’t exactly provided invaluable innings to the Rays’ bullpen this year (4.85 ERA / 3.55 FIP across 26 innings), but much of that damage came in a recent five-run meltdown two appearances ago. It was only last year that he posted terrific numbers in his first full big league campaign. In 2018, the sizable left-hander recorded 80 K’s in 64 innings for the 90-win Rays, while logging a terrific 2.39 ERA.

The Tampa Bay bullpen, on the whole, has been quite effective in 2019, with a collective 3.65 ERA–good enough for second among all major league relief units. Alvarado had only returned to that group on June 29th, following nearly a month away from the team spent tending to a family health emergency in his native Venezuela. There has been no word yet of resultant roster moves in the wake of this injury.

Rays Notes: Alvarado, Castillo, Duffy

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Rays reliever Jose Alvarado has been a go-to option for the team in high-leverage situations, but the left-hander has struggled since missing almost a month because of a family medical matter. As a result, the Rays will try to use Alvarado in lower impact spots for the time being, manager Kevin Cash suggested (via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times).

Alvarado boasted a 1.04 ERA as late as May 15, though that figure rose to 3.09 before he took his leave June 1. It’s now up to 4.85 since his June 29 return, largely because of a catastrophic performance in a 9-6 loss to the Orioles on Wednesday. Alvarado entered a 3-3 game in the top of the ninth and proceeded to allow six runs (five earned) on four hits, including a homer, and a walk in two-thirds of an inning.

Factoring in his horrific two-out showing, Alvarado has tossed 26 innings with a 3.55 FIP, which is significantly worse than the 2.27 he posted during a great 2018 campaign. Alvarado has continued to pump high-90s heat and strike out upward of 11 batters per nine, though his control has tanked. The 24-year-old’s first-pitch strike percentage has dropped approximately 14 percent since he debuted in the league in 2017, when he walked fewer than three hitters per nine. Alvarado’s BB/9 is now all the way up to 5.88. His home run rate has also fattened by 7 percent since 2018, though it’s still an above-average 9.5 on the year.

Cash noted the Rays will need both Alvarado and fellow flamethrowing reliever Diego Castillo – who lead the team with seven saves each – to return to form if the club’s going to maintain a playoff spot. At 50-38, the Rays are a game up on the AL’s No. 1 wild-card position. Both Alvarado and Castillo helped the Rays’ cause earlier in the season, but the latter also saw his production crater before going to the injured list June 23 with shoulder inflammation. The hope is that he’ll return right after the All-Star break, according to Topkin.

The right-handed Castillo, 25, entered June with a 2.12 ERA, only to see it rocket to 3.93 in a six-appearance span. Like Alvarado, Castillo has battled more control and homer problems than he grew accustomed to last season. Castillo’s walk rate has climbed from 2.86 per nine to 4.19 since then, and he has surrendered HRs on 17.9 percent of fly balls after yielding them at a 12 percent clip as a rookie in 2018. While Castillo has struck out almost 10 hitters per nine and induced ground balls just under 53 percent of the time, his 4.55 FIP still pales in comparison to last year’s 3.30.

As with Alvarado and Castillo, infielder Matt Duffy was an important Rays contributor last year whose 2019 hasn’t gone according to plan. In fact, thanks to back and hamstring injuries, Duffy hasn’t played at all this season. However, Duffy did just restart a rehab assignment for the first time in over a month, per Topkin. The 28-year-old had to halt his previous rehab stint May 22 after re-aggravating his hamstring injury.

Rays Designate Nick Ciuffo For Assignment

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The Rays announced Friday that they’ve designated catcher Nick Ciuffo for assignment. His 40-man spot will go to top prospect Brendan McKay, whose previously reported promotion to the Majors is now official. Tampa Bay also reinstated lefty Jose Alvarado from the restricted list and recalled Casey Sadler from Triple-A Durham. Lefty Jalen Beeks and infielder Mike Brosseau were optioned to Durham in a pair of corresponding moves.

The 24-year-old Ciuffo was a first-round pick back in 2013 but has yet to live up to the potential that came along with that draft billing. His DFA will come with somewhat atypical circumstances, as Ciuffo is on the injured list in the minor leagues after undergoing thumb surgery that was expected to sideline him for eight to ten weeks. There’s still another four to six weeks to go on that projected recovery time. Because Ciuffo is on the IL, he can’t be outrighted, which means the Rays will likely release him and then hope to re-sign him to a new minor league contract. That’s a fairly common outcome in the rare instances that an injured minor league player is designated for assignment.

In 134 plate appearances with Durham this year, Ciuffo batted .228/.276/.350. He’s posted a .529 OPS in a tiny sample of 50 big league plate appearances and is a career .250/.292/.369 hitter in 370 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level.

Alvarado, also 24, was on the restricted list after stepping away from the club for family reasons. He’s arguably Tampa Bay’s best reliever, having posted a 2.85 ERA (2.50 FIP) with 10.8 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9 in 117 innings since making his MLB debut as a 21-year-old in 2017.

The 25-year-old Beeks has been excellent for the Rays in 2019, serving primarily as a followup pitcher to frequent opener Ryne Stanek. In 61 1/3 innings, Beeks has a 2.79 ERA (3.48 FIP) with 7.5 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. Despite that strong performance, Beeks is a casualty of yesterday’s 18-inning marathon win over the Twins. Beeks pitched 3 1/3 innings yesterday and wouldn’t have been available for a couple of days. The Rays, in need of fresh arms, sent him down for some additional depth, but it’s likely that Beeks will be back once the 10-day minimum length of his optional assignment has been met.

Rays Select Contract Of Andrew Kittredge

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The Rays have selected the contract of righty Andrew Kittredge, Juan Toribio of MLB.com was among those to tweet. He’ll take the active roster spot of fellow reliever Jake Faria, who was optioned down to Triple-A.

Kittredge, 29, had posted strong results in the upper minors and in a 2017 MLB debut. But he ended up being outrighted off of the 40-man roster at the end of the 2018 campaign after a rough extended showcase in the majors. All told, he carries a 6.04 ERA in 53 2/3 frames at the game’s highest level.

Thus far in 2019, Kittredge owns a sparkling 1.93 ERA with 13.3 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in his 37 1/3 innings at Triple-A. That’s enough to earn him another shot in the bigs, though he’ll have to perform better this time around to hold down a spot.

For the Rays, the move won’t require a 40-man roster spot because lefty Jose Alvarado remains on the restricted list. He is back in the United States after taking time away to deal with an undisclosed family matter in his native Venezuela. (Also via Toribio, on Twitter.) Alvarado will spend at least some time throwing at the Rays’ spring facility before he’s considered again for the MLB roster.

Rays Notes: Edwin, Trades, Alvarado

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2:57pm: Alvarado is back in the United States, Toribio reports (via Twitter).  The left-hander will get some work in at the Rays’ Single-A affiliate to ramp up in preparation for his return to the majors.

2:01pm: Before Edwin Encarnacion was dealt to the Yankees last night, the Rays were also in talks with the Mariners about the slugger, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports (Twitter link).  As is so often the case for Tampa Bay, however, payroll was a factor, as the “Yankees were in better position to absorb” a larger portion of Encarnacion’s contract.  Ironically, the Rays are already paying a chunk of Encarnacion’s $20MM salary for the 2019 season — as per the terms of the Rays/Mariners/Indians three-team deal in December, Tampa is covering $5MM of the money owed to Encarnacion.

Taking on more salary apparently wasn’t feasible for the Rays, especially given that Seattle is trying to cut as much payroll as possible.  While checking in on a player of Encarnacion’s caliber, or checking with a rebuilding team like the Mariners, is just good due diligence for any team, the Rays’ interest could hint at the team’s intentions heading towards the trade deadline.  Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times hears from a club official that the Rays will be “in on everybody” leading up to July 31, leading to a wealth of interesting options given how much minor league talent Tampa has on offer, or how much the team is willing to even modestly expend its salary commitments.

For instance, Topkin cites former Ray and current Padres closer Kirby Yates as “a potential bullpen trade target.”  We’ve already heard that San Diego would basically need to be blown away to move Yates, and that’s assuming they become deadline sellers at all given that the team is still alive in the NL wild card race.  A pitcher like Yates fits the Rays’ model, however, as he is only owed around $1.4MM for the remainder of this season and is also arbitration-controlled through 2020.

The bullpen seems to be Tampa Bay’s “top need,” Topkin writes, though he also (more hypothetically) suggests that the Rays could even explore a blockbuster position player addition like Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor.  Needless to say, that type of a trade would be a longer shot, though it suggests just how open the Rays are to all options as they push to win the AL East.

In regards to the pen, the Rays should theoretically be in line for some internal help once Jose Alvarado returns from the restricted list.  However, MLB.com’s Juan Toribio (Twitter link) reports that “there is still no timetable for” when Alvarado would potentially rejoin the club.  The left-hander originally went on the family medical emergency list back on June 2, though since that leave period has a maximum of seven days, the Rays moved Alvarado to the restricted list a week later.

Details are scarce, which isn’t unusual given the personal nature of the situation, though the longer Alvarado is out, the more it could enhance Tampa’s need for relief help, particularly from the left side.  Alvarado has a troubling 6.2 BB/9 this season, yet despite that shaky control, still has a 3.09 ERA and 12.3 K/9 over 23 1/3 innings this season.

Rays Activate Yandy Diaz From 10-Day Injured List

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The Rays announced some roster moves this morning, including the activation of infielder Yandy Diaz from the 10-day injured list.  Nate Lowe, called up just yesterday from Triple-A, is on his way back to the minors in a corresponding move.  The Rays also optioned right-hander Adam Kolarek yesterday, but Kolarek is now making a quick return to the big leagues since southpaw Jose Alvarado has been placed on the family medical emergency list.

Diaz hit the IL on May 23, with a retroactive placement to May 20, with a left hand contusion after being hit by a pitch from the Yankees’ Chance Adams.  While Diaz was reportedly still feeling some soreness in his hand, a brief stint in extended Spring Training camp seems to have done the trick, and the corner infielder will now make his return to Tampa Bay’s lineup.  Acquired as part of the three-team trade that sent Jake Bauers to Cleveland last December, Diaz has hit an impressive .256/.339/.500 with nine homers over 180 plate appearances in a Rays uniform, delivering on the promise that his hard-hit ball statistics indicated during his time with the Tribe.

Lowe’s latest turn in the Show lasted only a day, as the slugging first base prospect now has a .263/.310/.316 slash line over 42 PA this season.  It stands to reason that Lowe will continue to be shuffled between the majors and minors as circumstances warrant, though the Rays will surely keep an eye on his service time so as to gain an extra year of team control over the youngster.

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