Suspended Phillies reliever José Alvarado says he 'made a mistake' taking a banned substance

Scott Lauber, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Aug 5, 2025

Published in Baseball

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PHILADELPHIA — José Alvarado left town on May 18 without talking to even his Phillies teammates, most of whom got the news from manager Rob Thomson in a hastily called team meeting.

Eleven weeks later, the reliever finally broke his silence.

Alvarado returned to Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, two weeks shy of the end of his 80-game suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, and released a statement on his Instagram account.

In the 168-word statement, Alvarado didn’t explain why he took exogenous testosterone. (Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said at the time that it was weight-loss medication.) Alvarado wrote that he “would never intend” to use a banned substance.

“I made a mistake,” Alvarado said, “and therefore I have faced the consequences set forth by MLB.” He later added, “There is always a lesson to be learned in every mistake.”

Alvarado will take questions from reporters later Tuesday.

Before Alvarado finishes serving his suspension on Aug. 19, the Phillies are allowed to send him on a minor league assignment. He’s expected to rejoin the major-league bullpen at home on Aug. 19 against the Seattle Mariners. But he’s ineligible to pitch in the postseason, according to MLB rules.

“I think they’ve done pretty well without him, to tell you the truth,” Thomson said of the team’s relievers. “We’ve won a lot of games without him. But he certainly is going to bring more energy, and he’s going to bring another really, really good arm.”

In 20 appearances this season, Alvarado has a 2.70 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 20 innings. The average velocity on both his sinker (99.3 mph) and four-seam fastball (99.6) was up considerably from last year, when those pitches averaged 97.8 and 96.8 mph, respectively.

“I know what the situation was. I don’t think [PEDs] was assisting him at all,” Dombrowski said recently. “He’s been throwing in Venezuela. We know that. I don’t think it will affect him at all.”

Without Alvarado, the Phillies’ bullpen has a 4.33 ERA, 18th in the majors since May 18. The bullpen’s composition has changed, too. Lefty Tanner Banks has taken on a more prominent role behind lefty Matt Strahm. David Robertson, signed to a prorated $16 million contract on July 20, is getting closer to joining the team.

But the biggest change was the addition of closer Jhoan Duran in a deadline blockbuster with the Minnesota Twins. Duran hasn’t allowed a baserunner yet in recording two saves for the Phillies.

Alvarado figures to reenter the Phillies’ late-inning relief mix, even though he won’t factor into the postseason bullpen. And he has plenty of incentive to pitch well. The Phillies hold a $9 million option (or a $500,000 buyout) on his contract for next season.

Extra bases

In a swap of righty relievers, the Phillies reinstated Joe Ross from the injured list and optioned Seth Johnson to Triple-A. Ross, sidelined for two weeks with back spasms, has a 5.28 ERA in 31 appearances; Johnson has a 4.26 ERA in 10 appearances over multiple call-ups. ... The Phillies signed reliever Lou Trivino to a minor-league contract. Trivino, a 33-year-old righty who pitched in college at Slippery Rock, has a 4.42 ERA in 37 appearances this season for the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers, including a 3.76 mark for Los Angeles before being designated for assignment on July 21. ... Ranger Suárez (8-4, 2.68 ERA) is scheduled to start the series finale at 12:35 p.m. ET Wednesday against Baltimore Orioles lefty Trevor Rogers (4-2, 1.44).

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