Entering his fifth season on the Philadelphia Phillies (already!), José Alvarado has experienced some high highs and some low lows. At his best, he's a flamethrowing southpaw who can fill a variety of different roles in the club's bullpen and strike batters out with the best of them.
At his worst, he's a shaky and unreliable pitcher who has trouble finding the strike zone and keeping the bases empty. Over the course of his tenure on the Phillies, they've seen a mixture of both of these players from Alvarado.
Just last year, the left-hander made 66 appearances — the most he's had since 2018 — but his ERA spiked to 4.09 from 1.74 the year prior and his strikeouts dipped, his H/9 went up and he basically took steps back in every category he was so dominant in the year prior. It's easy to see why the Phillies took him and his 100 ERA+ (league-average) and brought aboard multiple relievers dating back to last year's trade deadline to try and fill the void he left as the team's top high-leverage arm.
To kick off spring training of this year, Alvarado is looking a lot like his old self, and it should have Phillies fans salivating.
José Alvarado Filth. pic.twitter.com/V1Sfpi8tRK
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 2, 2025
It sure looks like Jose Alvarado is ready to reclaim high-leverage bullpen role
It's still a small sample size, but Alvarado has six games and six innings under his belt during 2025 spring training, and he has yet to allow a single earned run. In fact, of the 18 outs he has recorded so far, 15 of them have been via strikeout (!!!) and he has only allowed two base hits and three walks.
Getting the burly lefty to bounce back would be massive for the Phillies' bullpen. He's capable of doing great things when he's "on," and it's been a bit since the team has seen this level of dominance from him.
“I wish we could bottle it up,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said during an in-game interview after Alvarado’s three-strikeout outing on March 15 when he hit 102 mph on the radar gun. “It’s maybe as good as I’ve ever seen him.”
Having Alvarado back on his A-Game would give the Phillies a true embarrassment of riches when it comes to the back end of their bullpen. Jordan Romano is already on hand as the club's likely closer in 2025, but Orion Kerkering looks legit as well. Adding Alvarado back into the mix for save opportunities would give the Phillies a three-headed monster back there and it'd help them secure many more close-game victories in the coming season.
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