Breaking news: Phillies, José Alvarado avoid arbitration
Breaking news: Phillies and José Alvarado avoid arbitration
Right at the 1 PM ET arbitration deadline, the Philadelphia Phillies and José Alvarado’s agents came to an agreement on his salary for the 2022 season.
The hard-throwing lefty will earn $1.9M this season, his agents confirm. This is nearly double his salary from last season.
Alvarado signed as an international free agent with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2012 and made his big-league debut with the club in 2017. They traded Alvarado to the Phillies as part of a three-team trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December 2020.
In his first season with the Phillies in 2021, Alvarado pitched to a 4.20 ERA over 64 appearances, including finishing 10 games and earning five saves. He struck out 68 batters over 55 2/3 innings, and his blazing fastball was in the 99th percentile of all pitchers. His sinker averaged 99.4 mph, significantly higher than the Phillies bullpen’s overall average fastball velocity of 93 mph.
Opposing batters hit .213/.382/.325 with a .707 OPS and 21% hard-hit balls against the 26-year-old old.
José said "make it spicy." 🌶️🥵🔥 pic.twitter.com/KfzyE8oqHp
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 17, 2021
The only thing holding Alvarado back is walking batters. If he can improve his control and limit walks, he will be a dominant force for his team in 2022.
The Phillies bullpen blew 34 saves in 2021, tying the MLB record for most blown saves in a single season. They’ve taken the first step to improve upon that by adding several new relievers: Corey Knebel, Kent Emanuel, Jeurys Familia, and Brad Hand. Now, they just need to get out there and shut batters down.
