José Alvarado's 2026 season had already been messy. There were positives to hope for as the season goes on, there was generally some brutal BABIP and situational luck that helped inflate his ERA. Even with that, there is only so much you can argue for someone who entered tonight's game with an ERA over six.
Then tonight's bottom of the sixth inning happened. It took him 35 pitches because he had to face seven hitters. Three of them ended with walks to first base and with two outs, Noelvi Marte caught an inside cutter right off the left field chalk that put tonight's game completely out of reach.
It seemed like a sure thing to pick up Alvarado's nine-million-dollar club option after 2025, even with his PEDs suspension that derailed a promising season. It was not going to be easy to find left handers at a similar rate, especially since they moved on from Matt Strahm later in the winter.
Through 32.0 innings, Alvarado now carries a 7.04 ERA and no matter what happens over the next month, finding a left handed reliever has become a major need at the upcoming trade deadline.
Tanner Banks made his first appearance with the Phillies since being recalled, following Alan Rangel in a one-run game in the fourth. Edwin Arroyo immediately greeted Banks with a triple past Gabriel Rincones jr (that should've been a single).