On Sunday morning, the Philadelphia Phillies and their fans were rocked by the news that left-hander José Alvarado had been handed an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. It's a huge blow to a team that just took over the top spot in the National League and has big aspirations this season.
The fallout will continue as we wait to see what the front office does to plug the hole left by the team's top reliever, who won't be eligible to return until Aug. 19 and isn't eligible for the postseason. We'll also see how manager Rob Thomson handles the bullpen usage, with one less sure thing at the back end.
Understandably, Phillies fans are devastated, feeling betrayed and angry. While Alvarado was apparently taking a weight-loss drug over the offseason, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki, how this kind of thing happens is perplexing. Whatever drug he was on contained exogenous testosterone, a banned substance by Major League Baseball.
Multiple Philly radio hosts spread blame around for José Alvarado's suspension
John Kincade of 97.5 The Phanatic outlined exactly why Alvarado's suspension is unacceptable.
"Every single player in Major League Baseball has a portal that they can go to ... all you need to do is take a picture, snap it on your phone, upload it to a portal," Kincade explained during an on-air rant. "They will review it for you, and you will get an approval of whether that is an approved substance or not. Once you've gotten the approval, then you are completely safe to take it. You will not be in any danger of being dinged by Major League Baseball because you went through the proper procedures of getting it cleared."
That seems easy enough. For a professional player not to be aware or savvy enough to go through this procedure is mind-boggling.
Phillis president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said he believes that Alvarado didn't take the banned substance knowingly, based on his conversation with the big lefty, according to Zolecki.
"He’s always been self-conscious of his weight, working hard on it and something he took gave a positive result," Dombrowski told reporters on Sunday. "But ultimately, you’re still responsible for it. ... The system is a very stringent system. You’re responsible for what goes into your body."
While Dombrowski seems to put the fault on Alvarado's shoulders, and rightly so, it raises the question about why the Phillies weren't in the loop. Another 97.5 personality chimed in on this, with Mike Missanelli putting the Phillies organization squarely in the crosshairs for letting this slip through the cracks.
"How are the Phillies skating out of this?" Missanelli questioned on Monday. "How do they not know what José Alvarado is up to in the offseason, when they know he's trying to lose weight? You mean to tell me there's no training staff, no medical staff, that's supervising how he's trying to lose weight. ... In this day and age, they don't have that covered?
"I'm sitting here apoplectic that nobody's looking at this like the Phillies should have been on top of this from the start. This kills their season. This is something that could kill their season. Their bullpen is already weak. Their most reliable fireballer is in there. Not to even ignore the fact that the guy's velocity upticked as he's getting older. You mean to tell me that no one flashed a red flag on what was going on with José Alvarado?"
Are The Phillies Responsible For Alvarado’s Suspension? @MikeMiss25 #RingTheBell #MLB pic.twitter.com/aIAUAW8Ru1
— 97.5 The Fanatic (@975TheFanatic) May 19, 2025
All points raised are valid. At the end of the day, both sides — Alvarado and the team — need to accept a share of the blame. The 80 regular season games he'll miss is one thing, but to not have one of the top lefty relievers in the bullpen for the postseason could be crippling. That seems like an oversight the Phillies really couldn't afford.
Dombrowski will obviously do something, and likely multiple things, to fix the high-leverage bullpen depth. But with an even bigger hole to fill, it will cost them more prospect capital than they originally intended to move at the trade deadline.
And everyone is to blame.