A Healthy Jose Alvarado is Beneficial to the Phillies
A healthy Jose Alvarado is beneficial for the Philadelphia Phillies and their relief corps. When healthy, he is as effective as any reliever in baseball. He has superb velocity and movement with his pitches. Alvarado has also shown that keen ability to dominate both left- and right-handed hitters with his mix of pitches.
Injuries 2023
Alvarado started the season off strong with a 1.88 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings. However, he was placed on the IL with inflammation on May 8. After tests showed no structural damage, he rested his arm and pitched well after his return on June 8, lowering his ERA to 1.38, getting six saves with 39 strikeouts in 26 appearances. However, he went back on the IL with the same injury on July 7.
Activated
The Phillies were happy when Jose Alvarado returned on August 21. He made two appearances during a rehab assignment with Triple- A Lehigh Valley and was ready to go. Alvarado picked up a save the next day and appears to be back in form.
The Phillies will keep a close watch on how many innings and games he pitches in. He has appeared in back-to-back games only twice all season, and they will need to make sure his arm remains at game strength.
His Impact
The Phillies are 20-6 this season in games in which Alvarado has pitched. He could have become a free agent after this season. However, because the Phillies like his impact both on the field and in the clubhouse, they signed him to a three-year contract extension with a 2026 club option this past February.
Strength of Bullpen
The Phillies bullpen has been a strength most of the season, keeping them in the top spot for a Wild Card. The emergence of right-hander Jeff Hoffman has been a surprise, with his 2.49 ERA in 43 games. Add in the versatility of left-handed Matt Strahm with eight wins and a 3.23 ERA in 45 games, and a healthy Alvarado will only be a further strength.
Final Month
Jose Alvarado’s impact on this team has proved to be imperative. His presence down the stretch could help keep closer Craig Kimbrel and setup man Gregory Soto from being overworked.
They need to play some of their best baseball right now to get home-field advantage in the Wild Card round. However, they cannot afford to overtax the bullpen and have fatigue settle in just in time for the Wild Card round of games. Alvarado’s return can only ease those strains and remaining healthy is key.
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