Phillies Announce Roster News Amid MLB Free Agency

The Phillies announced their first major move of the offseason on Wednesday, with MLB free agency now open following the conclusion of the World Series.

“The Phillies have exercised the club option on left-handed pitcher José Alvarado for the 2026 season,” the team wrote on X.

Jose Alvarado’s return is not an unexpected move. During the end-of-season press conference, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said he expected Alvarado to be back in 2026.

Alvarado has spent the last five seasons of his nine-year career in Philadelphia and has been one of the team’s most trusted options out of the bullpen. The 30-year-old left-handed reliever owns a 3.48 ERA, 17–12 record, 37 saves and 308 strikeouts over 259 appearances for the Phillies during that span.

However, his 2025 season was easily his worst. Alvarado was suspended 80 games after testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance, sidelining him for most of the year and making him ineligible for the postseason.

Alvarado’s club option is worth $9 million, giving the Phillies a cost-controlled way to retain a proven late-inning arm. A club option allows a team to keep a player for an additional season at a predetermined salary, rather than letting him enter free agency.

With the move, Alvarado joins fellow relievers Jhoan Duran and Matt Strahm as bullpen arms already under contract for 2026. Orion Kerkering also remains under team control, giving Philadelphia a solid foundation of relief options heading into the offseason. The front office will now look to build around that core with targeted additions.