Jose Alvarez

Alvarez pitched respectably in his first season in Philadelphia after coming over from the Angels in exchange for Luis Garcia. He wasn't able to repeat his 2.71 ERA from 2018, but his 3.36 ERA for the Phillies was generally good enough to get the job done. The southpaw struggled against right-handed batters, letting them hit .328/.385/.475, but he held fellow lefties to a .236/.277/.382 slash line. While he's clearly good enough to play a role in a big-league bullpen, his fantasy upside is minimal. Nothing about his 4.21 FIP or 20.0 K% suggests that he's about to work his way into the ninth-inning role and improve upon his three career saves. There's a downside as well for those who play in leagues deep enough where even decent middle relievers get rostered, as Alvarez's inability to get righties out could cost him a job when the three-batter minimum gets implemented this season.

Alvarez's reward for a career-best season was a trade to Philadelphia where he'll add a veteran lefty presence to an improving bullpen. In 2018, Alvarez posted his third straight year with double-digit holds for the Angels, allowing just three homers in 63 innings, fueling his personal lowest ERA. He'll be hard-pressed to repeat that in Citizen's Bank Park, a venue more generous with respect to the long ball. On the other hand, his new home digs inflate strikeouts a little more than Angels Stadium, so that combined with the move to the Senior Circuit should add a few more punchouts to his ledger. Curiously, left-handed batters hit Alvarez for more power than righties, while right-handed swingers sport a much higher batting average. Look for Alvarez to be deployed in a high-leverage setup role, making him useful in deeper leagues scoring holds.

For the first time since 2014, Alvarez wasn't the most heavily-deployed arm out of the Angels' bullpen. That can likely be chalked up to his poor first half, as the 28-year-old struggled to a 5.40 ERA across 30 innings prior to the All-Star break, mostly thanks to his 59.4 percent strand rate and troublesome 1.7 HR/9. He spent the second half shuttling between Triple-A Salt Lake and the majors, posting an impressive 1.45 ERA thanks to much-improved home run and strand rates in a limited sample with Los Angeles (18.2 innings). Alvarez saw a slight increase in his strikeout rate from 2016, though it still sat at a humble 8.3 K/9. He also saw his walk rate drop for a third consecutive season to an impressive 2.2 BB/9. Given the Angels don't have any other proven left-handed options to use out of their bullpen, Alvarez should once again see his fair share of innings in 2018, which will likely amount to a respectable number of holds.

Alvarez found himself as one of the most heavily-used arms out of the Angels' bullpen once again in 2016. The left-hander's first half of the season was a bit shaky, as he held a 4.38 ERA and 1.59 WHIP at the beginning of July. This led to a brief stint in the minors, but upon his return later in the month, the 27-year-old showed vast improvement. The Angels currently don't have many better options in an overall weak bullpen, meaning the job security for Alvarez is pretty strong. However, his relatively modest strikeout rate (8.0 K/9) and horrific home/road splits (1.13 ERA at home vs. 6.39 ERA on the road) mean he likely won't be thrust into a bigger role. He's a consideration in leagues that count holds, but that's about the extent of Alvarez's fantasy appeal.

Alvarez recorded just two outs for the Angels in 2014 due to injury concerns, but was able to become a useful piece of the bullpen last season after snagging a longman role in spring training, finishing the year with a 3.49 ERA in 67 innings. Alvarez wound up facing more righties than lefties last season after initially being thought of as a lefty specialist, and was able to keep the ball on the ground (51%) and limit homers (five in 67 innings) while notching a BB/9 rate just above 3.0. While Ramos' ability to work hitters from both sides of the plate will likely make him an important part of the bullpen once again in 2016, he tallied just seven holds despite seeing the heaviest workload of his career, which makes him more valuable to the Halos than to fantasy owners.

The Angels acquired Alvarez from the Tigers in March for backup infielder Andrew Romine, seizing an opportunity to add depth to what was then a shaky bullpen when Jose Iglesias was ruled out for the season due to stress fractures in his legs. After tossing 38.2 innings with the Tigers in 2013 and posting a 5.82 ERA in 14 games (six starts), Alvarez spent most of his time last season at Triple-A Salt Lake, where he notched a 6.75 ERA in 30.1 innings over six starts. It's expected that Cesar Ramos, who was acquired from the Rays in November, is going to be the top lefty out of the bullpen, but Alvarez's experience as a starter could give him the opportunity to compete for the final spot in the rotation, as Tyler Skaggs is expected to miss the entire season after having Tommy John surgery in August.

Alvarez made his major league debut in 2013, making 14 appearances while splitting time between the Tigers’ rotation and bullpen. The 25-year-old southpaw failed to impress, finishing the season 1-5 with a 5.82 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 31:16 K:BB ratio in 38.2 innings. Despite the rocky debut in the majors, Alvarez flashed potential while pitching for Triple-A Toledo last season. In 21 appearances (20 starts) for the Mud Hens, Alvarez went 8-6 with a 2.80 ERA and 115:25 K:BB ratio over 128.2 innings. With a fastball that typically sits in the high-80s to low-90s range, Alvarez doesn’t overpower hitters, but he’s shown the ability to mix four additional above-average pitches (cutter, changeup, curveball and slider) to keep hitters off balance. The Tigers' rotation is full heading into 2014, which should earmark Alvarez for a spot as a lefty specialist and/or long man out of the bullpen, but he is one step closer to the rotation after Detroit traded Doug Fister to Washington in December.