José Alvarado had a 2.70 ERA with 25 strikeouts and only four walks in 20 innings before his 80-game suspension, but struggled upon his return. Emilee Chinn / Getty Images

José Alvarado went into the Phillies’ clubhouse during the game and asked a staffer to help him empty his locker. It was the final weekend of the regular season. He was not eligible to pitch in the postseason, his elbow hurt, and he wanted to leave. He disappeared before his teammates returned to the room.

But it was not the end of his time with the Phillies.

The Phillies exercised Alvarado’s $9 million option on Wednesday, a decision that reflects the club’s confidence he can return to form after a season interrupted by an 80-game suspension for using a performance-enhancing drug. The reality is Alvarado, who turns 31 next May, would have entered the free-agent market as one of the best — if not the best — lefty relievers available.

So the Phillies will again take their chances with one of the harder-throwing lefties in the sport. Alvarado had a 2.70 ERA with 25 strikeouts and only four walks in 20 innings before his mid-May suspension for exogenous testosterone, which Alvarado told the Phillies resulted from an unapproved weight-loss supplement he took.

He allowed five runs (on three homers) in six innings upon his return. It was a difficult period to evaluate, given Alvarado’s downtime and the mental block of knowing he could not help the team in October.

José Alvarado delivers on Aug. 20, his first outing after an 80-game PED suspension. Opponents hit his sinker hard upon his return. (Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)

Alvarado ended the season sidelined by a left forearm strain. The Phillies sent him to the club’s complex in Florida for rehab; the injury was never said to be serious.

“Making sure that he’s healthy going into the offseason kind of eased his mind,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said in October. “It eased my mind. Like I’m bullish on the club, I’m really bullish on Alvarado too. I love him. I love his energy. I love his stuff. Wherever he’s at, he’s going to have a really good year next year.”

Retaining Alvarado does not guarantee the Phillies enter next season with the same late-inning mix they deployed in 2025. They will have a full season of Jhoan Duran as the closer, which will allow Thomson to pitch Alvarado in different spots. They could return Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm to setup roles, although the Phillies could shop Strahm this winter if they are comfortable with Alvarado and Tanner Banks as their primary lefty relievers.

The Phillies could prioritize more swing-and-miss stuff as they attempt to shuffle their bullpen mix. Last season, their bullpen ranked 28th in whiff rate. It was a steep drop from the standard set by recent Phillies bullpens. From 2022-24, the group ranked sixth in the majors in bullpen whiff rate.

Having Alvarado for only half of a season in 2025 affected that. He did not allow a single extra-base hit last season on his cutter, a pitch that generated a 47 percent whiff rate. It was one of the most difficult pitches in MLB to hit last season — before and after the suspension. That is a main reason the Phillies were sold on bringing back Alvarado.

His post-suspension sinker was a problem; opponents swung and missed at only two of the 76 sinkers Alvarado threw in August and September. They went 7-for-16 with three homers off the sinker.

Despite all of this, Alvarado would have been a coveted free agent. These are some of the better lefty relievers on the free-agent market: Gregory Soto, Drew Pomeranz, Caleb Thielbar, Tyler Alexander, Danny Coulombe, Hoby Milner, Steven Matz, Justin Wilson and Sean Newcomb.

Velocity is not everything. But last season, no lefty reliever in the sport had a higher average fastball velocity (99.1 mph) than Alvarado did. Teams will always bet on that.

Nov 5, 2025

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Matt Gelb is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Philadelphia Phillies. He has covered the team since 2010 while at The Philadelphia Inquirer, including a yearlong pause from baseball as a reporter on the city desk. He is a graduate of Syracuse University and Central Bucks High School West.