Phillies make big bet on José Alvarado with Matt Strahm trade
The absence of José Alvarado for much of the 2025 season made Matt Strahm the most crucial left-handed reliever on the Phillies roster. As Alvarado missed 80 regular-season games and the postseason after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, Strahm’s became the No. 1 lefty out of the bullpen.
That will no longer be the case in 2026, as the Phillies traded Strahm to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for right-hander Jonathan Bowlan on Friday. In a move that shook up the club’s big-league bullpen and sent away a three-year contributor, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski made a big bet that Alvarado will be ready to rebound over the course of a full season next year.
“You have to give to get, and we still feel good with our left-handers in the bullpen,” Dombrowski said. “And we think with having Alvarado back all year long, we’re looking for him to bounce back and be the Alvarado that has really shined in the past.”
With veteran David Robertson out of the mix after his latest return to Philadelphia to close out the year, the Phillies entered the offseason with one right-hander (Orion Kerkering) and three left-handers (Strahm, Alvarado and Tanner Banks) as their high-leverage options to go along with closer Jhoan Duran. Dombrowski said he preferred to have two righties and two lefties as the bridge to Duran, so he became comfortable with moving Strahm in the right deal once the Phillies signed right-hander Brad Keller this week.
Strahm was an effective, durable late-inning reliever in Philadelphia since 2023 with a 2.74 ERA this year. But the Phillies shed his $7.5 million salary in a trade that landed them a controllable long man or middle reliever in Bowlan. They also added Kyle Backhus, more of a lefty specialist, in another trade with the Diamondbacks. Keller will be a trusted arm. Dombrowski said the team likes “the overall mix” of this iteration of the bullpen.
But much of the operation will hinge on Alvarado, the 30-year-old fireballer who first came to Philadelphia in Dombrowski’s first trade for the Phillies ahead of the 2021 season. Without Strahm, Alvarado will be the top lefty out of the bullpen once again. He’ll presumably get dirty innings and big spots against pockets of lefty hitters while being expected to get some righties out as well. Banks will get his opportunities, too, but Alvarado will be needed as a true setup man.
It’s something of a gamble by Philadelphia’s front office. Alvarado has pitched like one of the best relievers in all of baseball at points in his Phillies career, and he’s failed on the biggest of stages. But now, maybe more than ever, it seems impossible to know exactly what he will bring.
Alvarado had a down year in 2024, and he was not a go-to arm in the postseason that October. The Phillies finally handed the ball to the burly lefty in Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the Mets, and he allowed two runs in two-thirds of an inning.
The reliever then reported to camp in 2025 in tremendous shape, and he was throwing gas in spring training. He found success early in the regular season as he carried a brutal Phillies bullpen. Alvarado had a 2.70 ERA in 20 games when his season came to a screeching halt on May 18 as he was suspended for 80 games.
The Phillies and Alvarado said the pitcher tested positive for exogenous testosterone after unknowingly putting the substance in his body while using a weight-loss drug. Regardless of intent, Alvarado was responsible for what happened. In addition to the suspension, he was banned from playoff participation. He returned to the Phillies in August, but his season ended due to a forearm strain following a poor eight-appearance stretch.
Dombrowski said Friday that the tenderness Alvarado experienced has subsided. He’s feeling healthy, and the team is confident he can head into 2026 with a fresh slate.
“We’re not injury concerned,” Dombrowski said. “I think being away from what ended up happening, that 80 games last year, will be good for him from a mental perspective, too.”
However, it’s still at least somewhat unclear what Alvarado will actually look like on the mound. After returning to Philadelphia this summer, he maintained that the substance did not impact his velocity or production, an assertion that can’t exactly be proven true or false. For whatever reasons behind them, the numbers do show that he was throwing a decent bit harder before his suspension than he was in the two previous seasons. Alvarado’s fastball averaged 97.8 mph in 2024, and it averaged 99.3 mph in 2025 before he was suspended. The lefty’s average fastball velocity was 98.3 mph in his short stint after being reinstated. Alvarado’s career-high fastball velocity was 99.6 mph in 2022. It will be intriguing to monitor where his fastball clocks throughout the 2026 season.
At any of those specific velocity marks, Alvarado is one of the hardest throwers in the entire major leagues and pitches faster than just about any left-hander not named Aroldis Chapman. But it’s also about more than just velo for Alvarado. If he can locate his sinker and cutter consistently while adding in some effective curveballs, he should pitch well, even if the velocity cools back down a tick. If it holds up, that’s all the more exciting for the Phillies.
Earlier this offseason, the team picked up a $9 million club option on Alvarado for next year and has expressed its belief in him to bounce back. The Phillies think he can stay in good shape in 2026 and pitch like he did to start 2025. Alvarado will have the chance to prove them right in 2026. The state of the bullpen will be depending on it.
“So we feel very good,” Dombrowski said. “We think he’s going to be the normal Alvarado. We’ve been in contact with him this wintertime. He’s feeling good, so we feel like he’s going to bounce back and be the same guy.”