Jose Alvarado was in his usual happy mood after Tuesday’s Phillies win, shortly after manager Rob Thomson announced he was unavailable with a left wrist strain.
Alvarado said he hopes to show up Wednesday and be ready to exit the bullpen.
That was not the case and will not be the case for a while. The Phils on Wednesday put their dominant left-hander substitute on the 15-day injury list with a left elbow infection.
After the game, however, they received good news. Further testing revealed nothing more than inflammation. Alvarado will still be banned from pitching for a few more days, and while he’ll join the team on the upcoming six-game road trip to Colorado and San Francisco, it doesn’t look like he’ll be activated eligible for the first time 23. May.
“We’re going to knock him out for a while and take really good care of this guy, we’re not going to push him back at all,” Thomson said after the Phils’ 2-1 walkoff win over the Blue Jays.
Thomson admitted earlier in the day that he was concerned. Alvarado is an integral part of the Phillies’ pitching team.
“Well, I mean, he’s a big part of the bullpen,” Thomson said. “He’s one of baseball’s best assistants, if not the best. Yes, I’m definitely a little worried.”
It’s always a concern when a pitcher sustains an elbow injury, especially when, like Alvarado, he regularly throws 100 mph and throws a high-impact throw. He wasn’t overworked this season and played in 14 of the Phillies’ first 36 games. That equates to a 63-game season streak, a mark he’s reached three times in his career. He was only used once in consecutive games.
“I don’t even know what to say,” Alvarado said. “It’s a really difficult game and unfortunately we can’t control everything.”
“I am happy. I’m happy to see my teammates win. It’s a little soreness in my elbow, a few days off and that’s it.”
Alvarado had basically split prep and wrap-up duties with Craig Kimbrel. If there were difficult left-handed duels in the eighth inning of a tight game, it would go to Alvarado. If there were any strong right-handers, it would be Kimbrel, followed by the other pitcher in the ninth.
Kimbrel appeared in both games of the Blue Jays series and had his best fastball of the season. He hit 99 mph on Tuesday and was consistently shooting 95-96 mph fastballs from Toronto hitters in or just over the hitting zone on Wednesday. He also takes corners and throws his breakball effectively.
This version of Kimbrel would go a long way in making up for Alvarado’s temporary loss.
“Speed has skyrocketed, the breakball was really good, and he’s throwing shots just by tossing the ball through the zone,” Thomson said. “It’s huge.”
Alvarado dominated the second half last season but has never been better than in the previous 14 appearances this season. He hit 24 with no walks. His opponents had a base percentage of .192. Both sides have been excited about the early return since Alvarado signed an extension with the Phillies through at least 2025 in November that earned him $.55 million in new money with a chance for more.
If Alvarado is out, left winger Gregory Soto will fill that role alongside Kimbrel. Soto has played 19 league-leading games, but five of those lasted less than an inning. Soto and Seranthony Dominguez had the same left-right thing as Alvarado and Kimbrel in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively.
That also makes Matt Strahm, who only switched to the bullpen at the weekend after exceeding expectations in six starts, even more important. Since Strahm went from being relieved in spring training to being relieved again at the beginning of the first five weeks, he is not yet in the normal relief program. The Phillies will not field him in back-to-back games. They are now comfortable using him two to three times a week, Thomson said Wednesday, depending on the number of pitches thrown.
Injury Notices
• Andrew Bellatti has been reinstated from the injured list in a fitting move to Alvarado’s IL position. Bellatti missed three weeks with a triceps tendinitis after making 10 appearances in the Phillies’ first 20 games.
• Kyle Schwarber was back in the lineup and in left field on Wednesday, a day after retiring with a bruised left foot. He fouled a ball off his left foot in the sixth inning Tuesday and was withdrawn at the start of the next half-inning. Thomson said Schwarber came through the pregame exam well and is being closely monitored during batting practice.