PHILADELPHIA — This is how it started — a wrist that feels a little tender Tuesday afternoon while playing catch with a teammate hours before a game. By Wednesday morning, Phillies reliever José Alvarado had undergone an MRI examination on his left elbow. He was placed on the 15-day injured list with inflammation. He was one of the best relievers in baseball one day and filled with doubt the next.
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“Yeah,” manager Rob Thomson said inside his office before Wednesday’s game against Toronto, “I’m a little concerned. For sure.”
This is how it ended — three relievers combining for five strikeouts in three scoreless innings to keep a game close against a good team so the Phillies could stage a comeback win in 10 innings. The MRI was clean for Alvarado. He won’t throw for a few days, although the Phillies will exercise the utmost caution in bringing him back.
“We’ll really take good care of this guy,” Thomson said. “We’re not going to rush him back at all.”
There are days like this during a 162-game slog. The Phillies, so far, have managed to largely avoid the epidemic that has afflicted the sport’s pitching. There will always be injuries to pitchers, especially now because they have been overengineered to test physical limitations, and the best teams are the ones that improvise ways to survive.
The club acquired Gregory Soto and Craig Kimbrel to add to the collection of bullpen arms that emerged a season ago when the Phillies rose to prominence. The idea was to provide Thomson with various options late in games so he didn’t overuse the best ones whenever a big spot arrived. Everyone is fresher.
Left unsaid: It made compensating for an injury to one of those relievers more palatable.
“That’s a credit to the front office,” righty Zack Wheeler said after allowing one run in seven innings Wednesday. “They got the arms, just in case somebody does go down, to be able to step in.”
It’ll be a test for the next two weeks — at least — without Alvarado because no one can replace him. He’s struck out 24 batters and walked none in 14 1/3 innings. While the Phillies are optimistic Alvarado will not miss an extended period, they will not know for sure until he tests the elbow after some downtime. He accompanied the Phillies on their West Coast trip, which was a sign that he could start throwing again sometime in the next week.
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But they have the luxury of taking it slow with him.
“I’m happy,” Alvarado said. “I’m happy to see my teammates win.”
The bullpen helped make that happen. Soto will assume a larger role later in games now. The Phillies like the adjustments Soto has made with his slider and mechanics. He’s prone to hiccups; those moments are just not as frequent.
Kimbrel, six weeks into the season, has become Thomson’s most-trusted righty reliever. The team has used Seranthony Domínguez earlier in games; he appeared Wednesday in the ninth inning for only the second time this season. The last time he had thrown a pitch in the eighth inning or later was April 22.
Thomson resisted the notion that he’s sought “softer” spots to deploy Domínguez. He was so dependable a season ago but his command hasn’t been as sharp in 2023. Now, without Alvarado, he’s become more important to the Phillies’ formula for winning.
The Phillies were unconcerned Tuesday night about Alvarado, so they let Andrew Bellatti drive to Allentown, Pa., for a scheduled rehab game Wednesday at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. When Alvarado went on the injured list Wednesday morning, they called Bellatti and told him he had to drive back to Philadelphia. He was now on the active roster.
Connor Brogdon pitched the eighth inning Tuesday in a tight game. The Phillies like him in a multi-inning role, but with Bellatti back, Brogdon could see higher-leverage opportunities. Jeff Hoffman has pitched only once since the Phillies purchased his contract to prevent him from taking a big-league job elsewhere. He could pitch his way into bigger spots.
Matt Strahm is the wild card in all this, transitioning back to a bullpen role after starting six games. Strahm will not be treated as a traditional reliever; Thomson will not yet use him on back-to-back days. They would prefer Strahm pitch more than an inning whenever he appears. But he’s been so effective and Alvarado’s absence might prompt Thomson to want to use Strahm in shorter bursts more often.
Kimbrel had two miserable outings at Dodger Stadium last week, went five days without pitching, then reappeared as a dominant force in back-to-back games against the Blue Jays. It was an eye-opening development. The Phillies do not know what version of Kimbrel they’ll see throughout the summer. But the one this week threw strikes, sat 96 mph, and even touched 99 mph with his fastball.
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“The velocity’s jumped,” Thomson said. “The breaking ball has been really good. And he’s throwing strikes. He’s just pounding the ball through the zone.”
Kimbrel’s fastball averaged 97.5 mph when he saved Tuesday’s 8-4 win. It was his hardest average velocity in a game since July 7, 2021, and his best in 2023 by more than 1 mph. He sat 96 mph when pitching for a second straight day and that was still better than what he logged in April.
He’s a two-pitch pitcher, and it’s much easier to live that way while throwing 96 and 97 mph than 94 mph.
The Phillies have a decent idea of what it’ll require to be among the league’s best. Kevin Gausman, who knifed through the Phillies on Wednesday with 98 mph fastballs and 88 mph splitters, tipped his cap afterward. “I think they’re the best lineup in the National League, from top to bottom,” Gausman told Toronto-based reporters after the Phillies’ 2-1 win. Maybe so.
But everything felt better for the Phillies once the pitching improved at the end of this homestand. The starters pitched deep. The bullpen, even without Alvarado, impressed.
The challenge to keep as many important pitchers healthy is just beginning.
GO DEEPER
'He's a different animal': José Alvarado changed his mindset and came back even better
(Top photo of Craig Kimbrel: Andy Lewis / Icon Sportswire / Associated Press)
