Phillies Designate Josh Walker For Assignment Activate Jos Alvarad

The Phillies announced that left-hander has been reinstated from the restricted list. That move was expected as he had served his 80-game PED suspension. To make make room for him, the Phils optioned right-hander to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and designated left-hander for a signment. Walker, 30, was acquired from the Jays in exchange for cash back in May. He Joey Wentz Jersey pitched five innings with Toronto but hasnt appeared in the majors with Philadelphia. Rather, hes spent his entire time with the Phillies organization in Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where hes logged 26 innings with a 4.50 ERA, 19.8% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk rate. A towering 66 left-hander, Walker has appeared in parts of three big league seasons two with the Mets and earlier this year with the Jays. Hes pitched only 27 1/3 MLB frames, however, and sports a rocky 6.59 ERA in that limited sample of work. Hes fanned nearly one quarter of his opponents and has a sharp 12.4% swinging-strike rate, but command has been a struggle for him both in the majors and in the upper minors. That said, Walker does have a more palatable 4.46 ERA and 26% strikeout rate in 167 2/3 innings of Triple-A work. Alvarado has been out since May 16 after receiving an 80-game ban following a positive PED test. His absence subtracted one of the Phillies top relief arms, and hell return to a new-look bullpen that suddenly looks like a powerhouse. In Alvarados absence, the Phillies acquired from the Twins and signed free agent . That pair, combined with , , and the returning Alvarado, makes the Phillies relief corps both exceptionally deep and dangerous for opposing lineups. In 20 innings prior to his suspension, Alvarado pitched to a 2.70 ERA with a 29.8% strikeout rate and just a 4.8% walk rate. While he had some struggles last year (4.09 ERA), Alvarado has generally been a high-impact bullpen weapon for skipper Rob Thomson for the past several seasons. Dating back to 2022, hes pitched 174 major league innings and logged a 3.10 ERA, 32% strikeout rate, 10.2% walk rate and 50.5% grounder rate. Despite being on the restricted list, Alvarado was allowed to pitch in a minor league rehab stint as a tune-up to return to the Philadelphia bullpen. He to sed five shutout innings, albeit with as many walks as strikeouts. Alvarado recorded a huge 62.9% ground-ball rate in that time. His average sinker dipped from 99.3 mph to 98 mph, though thats not exactly a surprise given the lengthy layoff. While Alvarado will provide a major boost to the Phillies down the stretch, hell be a non-factor when the postseason rolls around. Players who are suspended for PED usage are ruled ineligible for the playoffs during the year in which they served their suspension. Thomson will have Alvarado at his disposal for the next six weeks, but in October, itll be Duran, Robertson, Strahm, Banks and Kerkering anchoring the bullpen perhaps alongside one of the current rotation members, depending on the health and performance of the group between now and late September. Sam Howard Jersey