The Phillies traded for Jose Alvarado last season in the hopes they could find a left-handed reliever on a reasonable salary that could give them something they haven’t had much of lately. If the meant heart palpitations, I’d ask: did they not watch games in 2020? If by velocity, well they got that in spades.
2021 stats
55 2⁄3 IP, 1.60 WHIP, 27.1 K%, 18.7 BB%, 0.81 HR/9, 4.20 ERA (4.80 FIP), -0.3 fWAR
The good
In 2020, the Phillies’ relievers, according to Fangraphs, had an average fastball velocity of 93 miles per hour, coming in at 24th in the game.