Philadelphia Phillies closer Jose Alvarado has been suspended 80 games without pay for violating Major League Baseball’s drug policy after testing positive for exogenous testosterone.
The suspension, announced by the league on Sunday, is effective immediately, and will rule out Alvarado for the postseason this year as well.
“The Phillies fully support Major League Baseball’s Joint Prevention and Treatment Program and are disappointed to hear today’s news of Jose’s violation,” the team said in a statement. Alvarado leads the team with seven saves this season. He currently sports a 4-1 record with a 2.70 ERA to go along with 25 strikeouts and four walks in 20 innings pitched.
The in house favourite for saves moving forward is former Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano. The 32 year old has recently turned things around after a brutal start to the season, not allowing a run in any of his last 7 outings.
That being said, the need for bullpen support, especially for the postseason, now grows even more the Phillies front office. One name that’s been buoyed about of late has been former All-Star Felix Bautista who is currently a member of the slumping Baltimore Orioles.
Whether Baltimore would entertain such a move, or if they believe that their recent managerial change will allow them to turn things around remains to be seen.
Philadelphia is next in action on Sunday at 1:35pm ET vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Photo: Zach McHoul. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.