CLEARWATER, Fla. — José Alvarado was a few pitches into his Phillies debut Friday afternoon when second baseman Jean Segura turned to his left. He mouthed something to Brad Miller, the first baseman. “Wow,” Segura said.
Miller nodded.
“Yeah,” Miller said. “I remember that.”
Miller saw Alvarado at his best in 2018. They were teammates with Tampa Bay, and when Alvarado came to camp that spring, the reaction was universal: “Who is this guy?” The same sensation has overtaken Phillies camp this spring.
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Alvarado threw two pitches Friday at 100 mph. He fired a 93 mph slider. More importantly: Eight of his nine pitches were strikes. He filled the zone.
He has not been that pitcher for two years. When the Rays informed teams that Alvarado was available, the Phillies investigated because they were desperate for anything resembling competence in their bullpen. Tampa Bay had grown tired of Alvarado. He was out of shape. He lacked focus. The Rays did not want to pay him $1 million in 2021.
They had good reasons. Someone from the team handed Alvarado a few baseballs after spring training was shuttered last March. They told him to throw and work out. Alvarado did not throw. Instead, he ate. He loves his mother’s cooking, and he ate as much of it as he could. He gained at least 15 pounds during the four-month pause. He was not in pitching shape, and he hurt his shoulder as a result.
“It’s tough,” Alvarado said, “because I didn’t know if we’d play baseball or not. … When they said, shortened season, 60 games, let’s go, I had no chance.”
And now?
“He looks incredible,” Miller said. “He’s just the guy I remember.”
The first time Phillies pitching coach Caleb Cotham spoke to Alvarado on the phone over the winter, the burly Venezuelan lefty had a question: How soon can I be there? The Phillies arranged for Alvarado, who lives about an hour from the team’s complex, to train five days a week under the watchful eyes of club employees. The Phillies acquired him Dec. 29. By the first week of January, he was commuting to Clearwater.
He weighed close to 255 pounds when spring training began. That’s down from 287, which is what Alvarado said he weighed once the 2020 season finally started.
“After the season,” Alvarado said, “I looked in the mirror and I said to myself, ‘OK, I am a young guy. I’ve got good stuff. Let’s go. I can do this.’ I lost a lot of weight.”
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That meant certain sacrifices. Like, Alvarado could eat only four hallacas — a Venezuelan tamale — for the entire month of December. Alvarado lives with his parents, who came to the United States in 2019 after his mother suffered a heart attack that prompted Alvarado to leave the Rays for a month to tend to her. He loves his mother, and he loves her cooking.
This presented a challenge during the height of the pandemic.
“It’s not easy,” Alvarado said. “But everything is about mentality. When I go home, my mom is cooking my favorite foods. Like arepa and ham and cheese. Those are my favorite foods. Rice, beans, plantains, chicken and steak. That’s crazy.”
The extra weight compromised Alvarado. But, even worse he said, was that he did not follow a throwing program in April, May or June. He craved a structured environment. This was anything but. He pitched in just nine innings in 2020, and his fastball lacked its trademark electricity.
He fought through the bad conditioning and shoulder issues to make Tampa Bay’s roster for the American League Championship Series. But he was removed before the World Series.
“I got so mad, but that’s baseball,” Alvarado said. “I understand that situation. It’s not easy but everything is mentality.”
The Phillies have a modest proposal for Alvarado: Throw it down the middle. Let the stuff do its work.
“It’s a really simple plan for him,” Cotham said. “The stuff is so outstanding. So he has the ability to keep it very simple. He’s a joy to be around. The energy he brings, the fun he’s having when he’s pitching. He’s in a great spot. He’s enjoying his baseball.”
Alvarado said there were times in the past two seasons when he did not enjoy it. After a stellar 2018 season in which he posted a 2.39 ERA in 64 innings, he said some people from the Rays front office told him he could be the closer or the setup man in 2019. They traded Alex Colomé, the closer.
“After that,” Alvarado said, “they changed everything.” He snapped his fingers. “Nobody has a role here. So, I said, ‘OK. That’s baseball.’”
The Rays introduced the opener that season. Alvarado pitched mostly in the late innings. But he did start one game, on Aug. 24, 2019, and he walked three of the five batters he faced. He complained of elbow pain afterward. His season was over.
He wants a set role with the Phillies in 2021. Manager Joe Girardi has said he is aiming to establish a clear hierarchy in the bullpen this time.
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“The only thing I think about the Tampa Bay Rays is: Thank you for everything and good luck to everybody there,” Alvarado said. “They have great people there. That’s it. I’m very happy to be here. And I’m ready this year.”
His first impression was as good as it gets. The hardest he threw in 2020 was 98.9 mph. On Friday, he threw four pitches — 100.3, 100, 99.4, 99.1 — harder than that. And this was just his first Grapefruit League outing.
It was the quality of those hard-thrown heaters that excited Miller. He’s seen how hitters reacted to Alvarado’s best stuff.
“It looked ridiculous,” Miller said. “And the last ball hit to me, that’s what he gets a ton of. When guys do make contact, it’s weird cue balls and jam shots. It’s not a fastball that you see a lot. It’s special.”
Alvarado is happy. He looks comfortable. And, now, he has some ground rules to follow at home whenever his mom cooks.
“Especially in December,” Alvarado said. “It was crazy. You have pan de jamon and hallaca. When we go inside to my house, it’s like, ‘Oh shit.’ I can’t pass through the kitchen because everything is on the table.”
If that’s all it takes, the Phillies might be onto something.
(Top photo: Miles Kennedy / The Phillies)
