Philadelphia Phillies finally address the bullpen, trade for exciting lefty

Philadelphia Phillies have added a flame-throwing lefty to their bullpen.

I feel like I’ve written it a hundred times this offseason, but it’s no secret that the Philadelphia Phillies need bullpen help. They had the worst set of relievers in the league last year, and their ‘pen’s collective ERA ended up being the second worst in baseball history. If Matt Klentak and the Phillies had simply assembled a middle-of-the-road bullpen, the team likely would’ve ended their near decade long playoff drought.

This year’s free agent class is pretty reliever heavy, so a lot of people thought the Phillies would be proactive in terms of landing an expensive arm or two on the open market. Names like Liam Hendricks, Brad Hand, Trevor Rosenthal, and Alex Colome were all routinely mocked to the Phillies, and with Dave Dombrowski recently hired to run the team’s baseball operations, people were even more enthusiastic over the possibility of the team landing a strong late-inning relief arm (Dombrowski has historically loved landing All-Star caliber closers).

However, it was on the trade market (not free agency) that Dombrowski would make his first bullpen upgrade. In a three team deal with the Tampa Bay Rays and the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Phillies have landed themselves 25 year old lefty Jose Alvarado (not to be confused with Jose Alvarez). The four-year veteran is one of the more exciting relievers that the Phillies have acquired in recent years, and he has a fair amount of upside to him moving forward.

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After a promising rookie season in 2017 with the Rays, Alvarado really exploded onto the national scene in 2018. He finished the year with a 2.39 ERA and a 1.109 WHIP, and his K/9 rate was up at an 11.3. The lefty struggled with some injuries in 2019, resulting in a bit of a down year. He finished his third season in the majors with an ERA in the high fours and a 1.867 WHIP, but a lot of his other metrics remained strong. His K/9 rate jumped up to an 11.7 and his ability to avoid giving up home runs remained elite.

Alvarado pitched just nine innings in 2020, as injuries continued to keep him away from action. The Philadelphia Phillies were able to easily acquire him due to his past two seasons of injuries and inconsistencies, and are obviously hoping that he can get back to some semblance of that 2018 form.

Like most relievers who come out of Tampa’s system, Alvarado throws absolute gas. His sinker/two-seamer is his main pitch, and it’s one that routinely hits the 98/99 MPH threshold. As long as he’s healthy, he’ll instantly become the Phillies best power arm in the bullpen.

The injury history is obviously of concern, but for the most part this is the type of deal that Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies should be thrilled with. They gave up a low-value prospect in Garrett Cleavinger, and were able to land a young, high-velocity arm from one of the best pitching development programs in the world. Even if Alvarado can only get to 75% of the player he was in 2018, this trade will likely go down as a “W” for the Phillies.

Alvarado is also under team control through 2023 – adding another element of success to this type of trade.