The Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday reinstated José Alvarado from the restricted list after the left-handed pitcher served an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.
Alvarado returns to the Phillies’ bullpen after serving an 80-game suspension for testing positive for exogenous testosterone. The suspension makes Alvarado ineligible for the postseason.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said the positive test was caused by a weight loss drug Alvarado took in the offseason. Alvarado did not appeal the suspension. He returned from his home in Venezuela earlier this month to begin a rehab assignment. In his first public statement since his suspension, the 30-year-old apologized to the team and Phillies fans.
Alvarado made five appearances for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, striking out four, walking four and allowing four hits across five scoreless innings. He allowed one hit in a scoreless inning in his final outing for Lehigh Valley on Sunday.
“The last outing, it looked like he was back to normal,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Monday.
Thomson said Alvarado’s velocity was “exactly the same” as it was before the suspension. Alvarado’s sinker averaged 99.3 mph in 20 MLB games, up from 97.8 mph last season.
“He’s touched 100 [mph] on his rehab assignments,” Thomson said. “He looks good.”
Alvarado will rejoin the bullpen in a new role after the Phillies acquired closer Jhoan Duran before the trade deadline. He may start in lower leverage situations, but he’ll likely join Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm as high-leverage setup arms for Thomson to ride until the postseason.
The bullpen becomes more important now after Zack Wheeler had a procedure to remove a blood clot near his right shoulder. The club doesn’t have a timeline for Wheeler’s recovery, but it’s unlikely the 35-year-old will pitch again in the regular season.
While Alvarado isn’t eligible for the postseason, his arm could arguably turn the Phillies’ bullpen into its biggest strength for the final 37 regular-season games. The Phils enter Tuesday with a 5 1/2-game lead over the New York Mets in the NL East.
The Phillies made two corresponding moves to get Alvarado back on the 40-man and 26-man rosters.
First, Philadelphia designated left-handed pitcher Josh Walker for assignment to make room for Alvarado on the 40-man roster. Then, the club optioned Nolan Hoffman to Triple-A.
Hoffman, 28, was called up Monday and made his MLB debut in the team’s 12-7 win over the Mariners. Hoffman came up for Max Lazar and now heads back to Lehigh Valley a day later as the Phils’ bullpen shuffling continues.
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