In recent days, the Philadelphia Phillies have been trying to get by with a makeshift bullpen consisting of the likes of Andrew Bellatti, Yunior Marté, Dylan Covey, Jeff Hoffman and others, as their bullpen had been hit with injuries to key arms in Seranthony Domínguez and José Alvarado. So far, they have produced some mixed results, with some days good, and some days bad, but probably more bad than good. Well, it appears as though those unpredictable days could be ending soon, as the Phillies have received some good news with regards to potential bullpen reinforcements coming soon for the ballclub.
For Domínguez, he recently pitched a scoreless inning in his first rehab start this past Friday with the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate Lehigh Valley IronPigs. His fastball appeared to be working just fine, blazing in at 96-98 mph as he struck out two batters in the process.
Seranthony Dominguez with a scoreless inning of relief in his first rehab outing with Lehigh Valley tonight. He did allow a hit and a walk, but struck out a pair, including our old friend Andrew Knapp. Fastball sat 96-98 for Seranthony pic.twitter.com/KzRpSL715S
— Mitch Rupert (@Mitch_Rupert) July 22, 2023
For Alvarado, he may be just a little further behind Domínguez, but he has thrown from 90 feet this past Saturday, and has been seen playing catch in the outfield at Citizens Bank Park, with good signs pointing towards a potential rehab stint in the near future.
Good afternoon from CBP. José Alvarado is playing catch again in the outfield. pic.twitter.com/uYpkYpjrsi
— Destiny Lugardo (@destiny_lugardo) July 24, 2023
For the 2023 season, Domínguez sports a 1-2 record with a 4.33 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, with 28 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched, whereas Alvarado had been dynamite prior to his injury, posting a 1.38 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, with 39 strikeouts in just 26 innings of work, to go along with six saves.
Both Domínguez and Alvarado played key roles in helping the Phillies reach the postseason and all the way to the World Series last year, as well as much of their success so far this year. Losing both players for any prolonged length of time could ultimately be detrimental to the team, and which could severely affect their chances in making the playoffs as a result.
At least seeing both of them starting to get back into action soon breathes a huge sigh of relief for Phillies’ fans, as they will be highly depended on upon their return to help the ballclub in their run to the postseason once again.