The Phillies announced that left-hander José Alvarado has been placed on the restricted list to attend to a personal matter. Right-hander Michael Mercado has been recalled to take his active roster spot. Players on the restricted list don’t take up a spot on the 40-man roster, so the Phillies’ count drops to 39 for the time being.
The club hasn’t provided any information about Alvarado’s personal situation or how long he might away from the team. That will make his status a complete mystery until more information comes to light.
Alvarado has been an erratic but occasionally effective reliever in his career. He has walked 12.9% of batters he has faced but also struck out 29.6% of them. That wildness has led to oscillating results in terms of run prevention. He had a 2.39 ERA in 2018 but that number jumped up in the next three seasons, finishing between 4.20 and 6.00. He got down to 3.18 in 2022 and just 1.74 last year, but has bounced back up to 4.30 here in 2024.
For however long Alvarado is out of the picture, the Phillies will be down to Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks as their bullpen lefties. Kolby Allard and Tyler Gilbert are also on the 40-man roster but currently on optional assignment. The club could use their open roster spot to claim someone off waivers or promote someone already in the system, but Alvarado will need to be added back to the roster whenever he returns to the club.
Alvarado won’t collect pay or service time while on the restricted list. He and the Phillies agreed to an extension in February of 2023 which runs through 2025. Per that deal, his salary is $9MM this year. Each day he’s away will save the Phils about $48K, plus taxes. Per RosterResource, their current competitive balance tax number is $262MM. They are a third-time payor, meaning they pay a 50% tax on spending over the $237MM base threshold and a 62% rate on spending over the second line of $257MM. Subtracting Alvarado’s salary will also lead to about $30K in daily tax savings.