Venezuelan baseball player (born 1989)
Baseball player
Jose Ricardo Alvarez
(born May 6, 1989) is a
Venezuelan
professional baseball
pitcher
for the
Toros de Tijuana
of the
Mexican League
. He has previously played in
Major League Baseball
(MLB) for the
Detroit Tigers
,
Los Angeles Angels
,
Philadelphia Phillies
, and
San Francisco Giants
.
He was signed as an international
free agent
by the
Boston Red Sox
in 2005. In the
minor leagues
, Alvarez was a
2009
New York?Penn League
mid-season All Star, and a
2011
Florida State League
mid-season All Star. In the winter of 2014?15, he was named
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
Pitcher of the Year. He made his major league debut in
2013
. In
2018
he was second in the
American League
in appearances, with 76.
Career
[
edit
]
Alvarez was born in
Barcelona, Anzoategui
,
Venezuela
.
Boston Red Sox (2005?09)
[
edit
]
He was signed as an international
free agent
by the
Boston Red Sox
in July 2005.
[1]
In 2006 with the
DSL Red Sox
of the Dominican Summer League, Alvarez was 2?1 with a 1.61 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 61
2
⁄
3
innings. In 2007 with the
GCL Red Sox
of the
Gulf Coast League
he was 4?1 with a 1.84 ERA (third in the league) and 38 strikeouts in 49 innings.
[2]
[3]
In 2008 with the
Greenville Drive
of the Single?A
South Atlantic League
he was 8?9 with a 5.70 ERA, and 86 strikeouts in 118 innings.
[2]
In 2009, pitching for the
Lowell Spinners
in the Low?A
New York-Pennsylvania League
, Alvarez was a mid-season All Star, and ended the season 8?3 for the Spinners with a 1.52 ERA (3rd in the league, and tops in the Boston farm system), and 63 strikeouts in 83 innings.
[2]
[4]
[3]
He also pitched for the
Salem Red Sox
in the High?A
Carolina League
, and was 1?1 with a 4.74 ERA, and 11 strikeouts in 24
2
⁄
3
innings.
[2]
Florida Marlins (2010?12)
[
edit
]
Alvarez advanced as high as
Single?A
before being traded in November 2009 with
Hunter Jones
to the
Florida Marlins
organization in exchange for
Jeremy Hermida
.
[1]
In 2010 Alvarez was third in the Single?A
South Atlantic League
in wins as he went 10?3 with the
Greensboro Grasshoppers
with a 3.58 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 108 innings.
[5]
In 2011, pitching for the
Jupiter Hammerheads
in the High?A
Florida State League
, Alvarez was a mid-season All Star, and ended the season 6?5 for the Hammerheads with a 2.96 ERA, with 73 strikeouts in 82 innings.
[2]
[4]
He was a two-time winner of the best
changeup
in the Florida Marlins farm system.
[6]
In 2012 he pitched for the
Jacksonville Suns
in the Double?A
Southern League
. Alvarez was league Pitcher of the Week for the week ended June 25, and for the season was 6?9 with a 4.22 ERA, with 3
complete games
(tied for the league lead), 1.66
walks per nine innings
(tops among league starters), and 70 strikeouts in 136
1
⁄
3
innings.
[2]
[3]
Detroit Tigers (2012?14)
[
edit
]
At the end of the 2012 season Alvarez was released, and he was picked up by the
Detroit Tigers
on November 8, 2012, as a minor league free agent.
[3]
Alvarez was invited as a non-roster free agent by the Detroit Tigers to their 2013 spring training.
[7]
He played for the
Triple?A
Toledo Mud Hens
, where by June 2013 he was leading the
International League
in
strikeouts
,
Walks plus hits per innings pitched
(WHIP), and baserunners per nine innings.
[8]
Alvarez was called up to the majors for the first time on June 9, 2013, and made his debut starting in place of
Anibal Sanchez
.
[9]
He recorded a
win
and a
quality start
, pitching six innings while striking out seven against the
Cleveland Indians
.
[8]
He was sent back to the Toledo Mud Hens that same day
[10]
and was recalled June 20 to start again in place of Sanchez. On August 28, Alvarez was sent back to Toledo. In 2013 with the Tigers he was 1?5 with one save and a 5.82 ERA, with 31 strikeouts in 38
2
⁄
3
innings.
[11]
With Toledo, he was 8?6 with a 2.80 ERA (4th in the league), 5th in the league with a .235
batting average
against and 1.79 walks per nine innings, and 115 strikeouts (10th) in 128
2
⁄
3
innings.
[11]
[3]
He was named Detroit Tigers 2013 Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
[3]
Baseball America
named him as having the best
change up
and control in the International League.
[3]
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels (2014?18)
[
edit
]
On March 21, 2014, the Tigers traded Alvarez to the
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
for shortstop
Andrew Romine
.
[12]
He made two scoreless appearances for the Angels in 2014.
[11]
In the winter of 2014?15 he pitched for the
Caribes de Anzoategui
of the
Venezuelan Winter League
, and was named Venezuelan Winter League Pitcher of the Year after leading the league in wins. Alvarez was 6?1 with two saves and a 1.91 ERA, with 40 strikeouts in 56
2
⁄
3
innings.
[4]
[13]
Alvarez was called upon by the Angels 64 times in the 2015 season, posting a 4?3 record with a 3.49 ERA, and 59 strikeouts in 67 IP.
[11]
He was tied for sixth in the American League with 19 relief appearances of more than one inning pitched.
[3]
In 2016, Alvarez made 64 appearances for the Angels. He registered a 1?3 record and an ERA of 3.45, with 51 strikeouts in
57
+
1
⁄
3
innings.
[11]
He pitched in four games for
Team Venezuela
in the
2017 World Baseball Classic
.
[3]
Alvarez made 64 appearances for the third straight season in 2017 for the Angels, registering an 0?3 record with one save and an ERA of 3.88 and 45 strikeouts in
48
+
2
⁄
3
innings.
[11]
Among left-handed relief pitchers, his 83% stranded rate was 6th in the major leagues (minimum 30 innings).
[3]
Lefthanders batted .245/.252/.462 against him, with one walk and 26 strikeouts.
[14]
In 2018, Alvarez was 6?4 with one save and posted career bests in games (76; 2nd-most in the American League), wins (6), and ERA (2.71; 4th among left-handed AL relievers), and tied his career high with 59 strikeouts.
[11]
[15]
He allowed three home runs over 63 innings, and limited left-handed batters to batting .206/.265/.338 against him with nine walks and 34 strikeouts.
[15]
[16]
[17]
He was 5th among all MLB relievers, stranding 86.0% of inherited runners.
[3]
Philadelphia Phillies (2019?20)
[
edit
]
On December 6, 2018, Alvarez was traded to the
Philadelphia Phillies
, for relief pitcher
Luis Garcia
.
[15]
Alvarez made his first start in five years on June 1, 2019, as the Phillies' opener against the
Los Angeles Dodgers
. In 2019 with the Phillies he was 3?4 with one save and a 3.36 ERA, as he pitched in 67 games (one start) over 59 innings.
[18]
In 2020, during an August 20 game against the
Toronto Blue Jays
, Alvarez was struck in the groin by a
line drive
hit, leading to an injury that caused him to be inactive for the remainder of the season.
[19]
In 2020 he was 0?0 with a 1.42 ERA in 6
1
⁄
3
innings in which he struck out 6 batters over eight games.
[11]
San Francisco Giants (2021?2022)
[
edit
]
On March 6, 2021, Alvarez signed a one-year, $1.15 million contract with the
San Francisco Giants
, that included a $1.5 million club option for 2022.
[20]
In the 2021 regular season, Alvarez was 5?2 with a career-best 2.37 ERA in 67 games (1 start), in which he pitched 64
2
⁄
3
innings and allowed 7.4 hits per 9 innings pitched.
[11]
In 2022, Alvarez made 21 appearances for San Francisco, posting a 2?1 record and 5.28 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 15.1 innings pitched. He was placed on the injured list in early July with left elbow inflammation. On September 2, 2022, Alvarez underwent
Tommy John surgery
, ending his 2022 and 2023 seasons.
[21]
Detroit Tigers (second stint) (2023)
[
edit
]
On March 22, 2023, Alvarez signed a minor league contract with the
Detroit Tigers
organization. He was optioned to Triple-A Toledo to begin the year,
[22]
but spent the entire season on the injured list as he recovered from surgery. Alvarez was released by the Tigers organization on January 31, 2024.
[23]
Toros de Tijuana (2024?present)
[
edit
]
On June 9, 2024, Alvarez signed with the
Toros de Tijuana
of the
Mexican League
.
[24]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim until 2015.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Jose Alvarez"
. soxprospects.com. Archived from
the original
on May 9, 2013
. Retrieved
June 9,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"Jose Alvarez Winter & Minor Leagues Statistics & History"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
"Jose Alvarez Stats, Fantasy & News"
.
MLB.com
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Jose Alvarez Stats, Fantasy & News"
.
MiLB.com
.
- ^
"2010 South Atlantic League Pitching Leaders"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
.
- ^
"Know your James Mungro Memorial Award Nominee: Jose Alvarez"
. The Detroit Hustle
. Retrieved
July 7,
2013
.
- ^
Snyder, Matt (January 16, 2013).
"Detroit Tigers Sign Don Kelly, Invite 16 Others To Spring Training"
. Motor City Bengals
. Retrieved
June 9,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
Nightengale, Bobby (June 9, 2013).
"Alvarez deals gem in debut as Tigers sweep Tribe"
.
mlb.com
. Retrieved
June 9,
2013
.
- ^
Schmehl, James (June 8, 2013).
"Detroit Tigers will call up starter Jose Alvarez from Toledo, will make corresponding move after game"
.
mlive.com
. Retrieved
June 9,
2013
.
- ^
Beck, Jason (June 9, 2013).
"Tigers' middle relief a concern for Leyland"
.
mlb.com
. Retrieved
June 9,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
"Jose Alvarez Stats"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
.
- ^
"Detroit Tigers acquire shortstop Andrew Romine, send Jose Alvarez to Los Angeles Angels"
. MLive.com. March 21, 2014.
- ^
"2014-15 Caribes de Anzoategui Statistics"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
.
- ^
"Jose Alvarez 2017 Pitching Splits"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Phillies, Angels swap relievers in 1-for-1 deal"
.
MLB.com
.
- ^
"Angels Trade Jose Alvarez To Phillies"
.
MLB Trade Rumors
. December 6, 2018.
- ^
"Phillies acquire relief pitcher Jose Alvarez from Angels in exchange for Luis Garcia"
.
RSN
. December 7, 2018.
- ^
"Jose Alvarez Stats"
. Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
October 3,
2019
.
- ^
Zolecki, Todd (August 22, 2020).
"Notes: Alvarez to IL; relievers work to return"
.
MLB.com
.
Archived
from the original on January 16, 2021
. Retrieved
October 9,
2020
.
- ^
"Giants sign veteran lefty Alvarez to 1-year deal"
.
ESPN.com
. March 6, 2021.
- ^
"Giants' Jose Alvarez: Undergoes Tommy John surgery"
.
cbssports.com
. Retrieved
February 21,
2023
.
- ^
"Tigers' Jose Alvarez: Lands with Detroit"
.
cbssports.com
. Retrieved
March 22,
2023
.
- ^
"Transactions"
.
- ^
"LMB: Movimientos en listas de reserva - 9 y 10 de junio de 2024"
.
milb.com
. Retrieved
June 11,
2024
.
External links
[
edit
]