Apr 9, 2025; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jose Alvarado (46) reacts after shaking hands with first base Bryce Harper (3) after the Phillies defeated the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
While Mick Abel's tremendous Major League Debut in a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates was certainly a point of discussion, there still was an elephant in the Phillies clubhouse Sunday afternoon.
Rob Thomson informed players around 11:30 that José Alvarado had been suspended for 80 games — and will also be ineligible for the postseason — after failing a performance-enhancing drug test.
Both Thomson and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski spoke about Alvarado's suspension before the game, but by the time news broke of the failed test, the clubhouse was closed to the media.
So that made postgame a bit of an awkward event. Yes, Abel deserved his flowers after striking out nine over six shutout innings. But tough questions had to be asked of some team leaders about losing the club's top reliever for an extended period.
Bryce Harper led off.
"Yeah, I mean absolutely a tough situation," Harper said. "You know, don't know too much about it. Obviously, he took something that he wasn't supposed to and got suspended.
"We gotta turn the page as quickly as possible so that we can move on. Without him right now, that's obviously a big loss for us in our bullpen. He's one of our top arms down there. Just gotta go forward and not really worry about it."
Bryce Harper on José Alvarado’s suspension
(Via @TimKellySports) pic.twitter.com/LVwwjqWdBg
Harper was then asked whether he believes the Phillies will need to go outside the organization to fortify their bullpen in a year with World Series expectations.
"That's a Dombo question," Harper responded. "I think we just gotta play our game right now and not really worry about it too much.
"It's tough when a guy goes out of the clubhouse in that way because it kinda ... teams know that we need it," Harper elaborated. "So that's a tough way. Obviously, Dave does a good job getting value for value. But also, it's a tough situation to be in because teams do know that we're hurting and we need something."
Matt Strahm — who struck out two in a scoreless eighth inning Sunday — will be someone who becomes even more important without Alvarado.
"Still processing it, wanna talk to Alvy himself and get it straight from the horse's mouth," Strahm said. "But yeah, it sucks."
The thing about Alvarado is not only is he one of the most important players on the team, but he's often the life of the party in the clubhouse. So the Phillies now need to replace that aspect as well.
"That's the nature of the game, it always has been," Strahm said. "Someone goes down, you gotta stand up."
The only silver lining is that Jordan Romano has rebounded from a nightmarish start to pitch in dominant fashion in recent weeks. He closed out Sunday's 1-0 win, striking out all three batters he faced. The Phillies need Romano now to step up and be their top high-leverage reliever.
As for Alvarado, Romano's message was similar to what the Phillies have said all day — they have love for their teammate, but the show must go on without him.
"I heard about it this morning. It's just ... it's tough," Romano said. "Alvy supported me all year, through the ups and downs, so I'm gonna do the same with him. But yeah, it's a big hole to fill in the bullpen, and the boys just gotta step up."
