The Philadelphia Phillies dropped quite the bombshell on Sunday when the team announced that left-handed closer José Alvarado was handed an 80-game suspension without pay after testing positive for a banned substance. With the Phillies currently 46 games into the 162 game MLB schedule, he should return for the final 37 games of the regular season. But with Alvarado now ineligible for the postseason, the Phillies' bullpen has been dealt an even bigger blow.
Sure there's plenty of season remaining and high-leverage bullpen arms such as Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering and Jordan Romano could all step up and fill the void. And it obviously makes sense to see what internal candidates can bring to the table before engaging in another farm system altering trade. But as the Phillies actively engage in the process of due diligence, the Atlanta Braves appear ready to reassert themselves in the NL East picture after shouldering their own share of roster issues and suspensions.
José Alvarado’s suspension puts Phillies in same boat as Braves dealing with Jurickson Profar's suspension
There was a time not long ago when Phillies fans were having a laugh at the Braves’ myriad of injuries and string of desperate patch-it-together roster moves. But like any joke that circles back and transforms the teller into the punchline, all of a sudden the Braves early season struggles are no longer a laughing matter. And what started as an innocent chuckle when Braves’ stars Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. began the season on the IL, and following news that outfielder Jurickson Profar was hit with an 80-game suspension of his own for PED's during the opening days of the 2025 season, Phillies fan's certainly had a field day burying the Braves’ title hopes on social media.
José Alvarado and Jurickson Profar failed PED tests and are serving 80-game suspensions. Makes sense.
— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) May 19, 2025
But does it really make sense that they can come back and play in regular-season games that determine who is in the playoffs, but then not the playoffs?https://t.co/JFKLWAPYDD
But baseball is funny sport, and in the wake of Alvarado's recent suspension, and the Braves finally getting closer to full health with a perennial Cy Young Award candidate like Strider returning from the IL, and Acuña Jr.'s rehab being transferred to Triple-A, the Phillies will soon have another team to worry about beyond the NL East-leading New York Mets.
And with the Phillies currently sitting a half game back of the Mets ahead of Monday night's series opener against the lowly Colorado Rockies, all eyes will be focused on how the trio of Strahm, Kerkering and Romano pick up the slack left in the wake of Alvarado's poorly timed suspension. That being said, the team will have to use this adversity to its advantage and not lose focus at a time when the team has shown glimpses of making a breakthrough after experiencing its own share of early season struggles.