Philadelphia Phillies: Should Jose Alvarado be the team’s closer?

One of Dave Dombrowski’s first acquisitions upon taking the Philadelphia Phillies president gig, Jose Alvarado has looked pretty darn impressive in Spring Training thus far. He seamlessly hit 100 MPH during his first official outing as a Phillies reliever, and his turbo-sinker has been dancing all over the place. Alvarado has allowed just one hit in four innings of work, striking out a batter in each of his four appearances.

For a Phillies team that’s been void of velocity out of the bullpen for quite some time now, Alvarado has been the literal definition of a breath of fresh air.

In fact, Alvarado has looked so impressive since throwing on the red and white pinstripes, that conversation has now started to pick up in regards to him potentially closing ballgames for the Phillies moving forward:

On the surface, Alvarado as a closer for any ball club makes sense. His velocity would be a nightmare for opposing hitters late in games, and he has two secondary pitches that both generate plenty of swings and misses (sinker, slider).

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The Phillies experimented with multiple different closers last season – none of them were able to get the job done. Hector Neris lost the role after a disastrous start to the season (albeit he remains on the roster currently), the additions of Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree somehow made things worse, and midseason acquisitions David Hale and David Phelps were never seriously considered for the role.

Going from Neris/Workman to Alvarado and his 100 MPH fastball would be a significant upgrade in itself.

However, the Philadelphia Phillies paid a pretty penny for a different reliever who projects to close ballgames for them this season – Archie Bradley. While Bradley doesn’t possess the blistering velocity that Alvarado does, he has a plethora of major league experience, and a certain demander and confidence to him that screams “closer.” While Joe Girardi hasn’t formally committed to Bradley as the team’s primary closer, his $6 million salary paints the picture of someone who was brought in to play a very large role.

Should Jose Alvarado be the Philadelphia Phillies closer?

With that said, it’s not totally out of the question that Girardi will incorporate a “closer by committee” philosophy this season. Bradley and Neris obviously both have experience closing down games, Alvarado is a weapon, and someone like Connor Brogdon has also looked exceptional this spring. While Dombrowski appears to be a little “old school” when it comes to identifying a traditional closer on the roster, baseball is changing, and rotating closers on a regular basis is something a lot of really smart organizations do these days.

Ultimately speaking, I envision Alvarado being most valuable to the Phillies as their go-to lefty out of the ‘pen this season. The NL East is filled to the brim with MVP-caliber left-handed batters (Juan Soto, Freddie Freeman) – the Phils will need someone to get these guys out. Whether it’s in the seventh, eighth, or even ninth inning, turning to Alvarado when one of those lefty sluggers are due up in the order makes the most amount of sense.

Moving forward, however, I could absolutely see Alvarado taking over a primary closer role for Philly. He’s under control for two more years after 2021, and is still just 26 years old.

Regardless of what role he’s used in this season, having Alvarado on the roster is undoubtedly a good thing. His physical fitness and velocity have looked great considering his injury history in Tampa, and his pitch movement is causing all sorts of problems for opposing batters. Whether it’s as the team’s closer or as their main lefty arm, Alvarado is set to be a high-usage arm for the Philadelphia Phillies this season.