Phillies' lefty reliever reinstated from 80-game PED suspension

The Philadelphia Phillies announced that left-hander Jose Alvarado has been reinstated from the restricted list. That move was expected as he had served his 80-game PED suspension. To make room for him, the Phils optioned right-hander Nolan Hoffman to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and designated left-hander Josh Walker for assignment.

Walker, 30, was acquired from the Jays in exchange for cash back in May. He pitched five innings with the Toronto Blue Jays but hasn’t appeared in the majors with Philadelphia. Rather, he’s spent his entire time with the Phillies organization in Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he’s logged 26 innings with a 4.50 ERA, 19.8% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk rate.

A towering 6-foot-6 left-hander, Walker has appeared in parts of three big league seasons — two with the New York Mets and earlier this year with the Jays. He’s pitched only 27 1/3 MLB frames, however, and sports a rocky 6.59 ERA in that limited sample of work. He’s fanned nearly one quarter of his opponents and has a sharp 12.4% swinging-strike rate, but command has been a struggle for him both in the majors and the upper minors. That said, Walker does have a more palatable 4.46 ERA and 26% strikeout rate in 167 2/3 innings of Triple-A work.

Alvarado has been out since May 16 after receiving an 80-game ban following a positive PED test. His absence subtracted one of the Phillies’ top relief arms, and he’ll return to a new-look bullpen that suddenly looks like a powerhouse. In Alvarado’s absence, the Phillies acquired Jhoan Duran from the Minnesota Twins and signed free agent David Robertson. That pair, combined with Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering, Tanner Banks and the returning Alvarado, makes the Phillies’ relief corps both exceptionally deep and dangerous for opposing lineups.

In 20 innings before his suspension, Alvarado pitched to a 2.70 ERA with a 29.8% strikeout rate and just a 4.8% walk rate. While he had some struggles last year (4.09 ERA), Alvarado has generally been a high-impact bullpen weapon for skipper Rob Thomson for the past several seasons. Dating back to 2022, he’s pitched 174 major league innings and logged a 3.10 ERA, 32% strikeout rate, 10.2% walk rate and 50.5% grounder rate.

Despite being on the restricted list, Alvarado was allowed to pitch in a minor league rehab stint as a tune-up to return to the Philadelphia bullpen. He tossed five shutout innings, albeit with as many walks as strikeouts. Alvarado recorded a huge 62.9% ground-ball rate in that time. His average sinker dipped from 99.3 mph to 98 mph, though that’s not exactly a surprise given the lengthy layoff.

While Alvarado will provide a major boost to the Phillies down the stretch, he’ll be a non-factor when the postseason rolls around. Players who are suspended for PED usage are ruled ineligible for the playoffs during the year in which they served their suspension. Thomson will have Alvarado at his disposal for the next six weeks. Still, in October, it’ll be Duran, Robertson, Strahm, Banks and Kerkering anchoring the bullpen — perhaps alongside one of the current rotation members, depending on the health and performance of the group between now and late September.