Phillies Lefty Jose Alvarado Now Unable to Pitch in World Baseball Classic

About a dozen Phillies will leave Clearwater for the World Baseball Classic when March begins, but Jose Alvarado won't be one of them.

Alvarado will not participate for Team Venezuela because he did not pass the insurance protocol, according to Venezuelan reporter Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extrabase.

También es oficial: José Alvarado no podrá participar en el Clásico Mundial de Béisbol. No pasó el protocolo del seguro.

Oddanier Mosqueda sufrió una lesión en el codo y estará de baja de 2 a 4 semanas, también se pierde el torneo.
— Daniel Álvarez-Montes (@DanielAlvarezEE) February 21, 2026

The insurance issue of the World Baseball Classic is a complicated one. This piece at WorldBaseball.com does a good job of explaining it.

Alvarado would have been a key player for Team Venezuela, which also lost starting pitcher Pablo Lopez last week after the Twins right-hander suffered a season-ending elbow injury.

It's another bout of rough news for Alvarado, who was suspended 80 games by MLB last season for a positive PED test. That derailed the strongest start of his career. Alvarado was already throwing 101-102 mph last February, and in his first 15 regular-season appearances posted a 1.72 ERA with 22 strikeouts and two walks.

Because of the suspension, Alvarado did not appear from the Phillies' 45th game through their 126th last season. They went 47-35 in those games.

"Look, as I always say, we are human beings. Anyone can make a mistake," Alvarado told Sports Venezuela earlier this month. "God willing, any countryman, any athlete who plays this sport (doesn't have to) go through that situation. But what's done is done, we are here thanking God for this new opportunity."

Top lefty in the 'pen

The Phillies are thrilled to have him back for a full season in 2026. Alvarado is set to earn $9 million in his final year under contract.

The 30-year-old lefty is entering Year 6 with the Phillies and looks like one of their three most important relievers, alongside closer Jhoan Duran and right-handed setup man Brad Keller. When the lineup dictates that a lefty makes more sense in the eighth, Alvarado will draw the eighth. If both he and Duran are clicking, good luck to the other lineup.

Seen it all

Alvarado has had high highs and low lows since joining the Phillies in a trade from the Tampa Bay Rays just before New Year's Eve 2020. His first year with the Phils helped explain why Tampa gave up on him, as he walked 47 batters in 55⅔ innings, looking like another in a long line of relievers over time with elite velocity but subpar control.

The next season, 2022, did not start smoothly for Alvarado. He had a 7.62 ERA by Memorial Day with 10 walks in 13 innings and was surprisingly demoted to Triple A.

That's when everything clicked.

Alvarado returned to the majors three weeks later and from June 16 through the end of the 2022 regular season, he pitched to a 1.22 ERA with 64 strikeouts and just 12 walks in 37 innings.

He found confidence, he found a routine and he started getting into better physical shape.

He then came up huge for the Phillies in the NLDS and NLCS before giving up the decisive home run to Astros lefty Yordan Alvarez in Game 6 of the World Series.

Despite the sour ending, Alvarado went on to have a career year in 2023 with a 1.74 ERA.

He was ripped by the Braves on Opening Day 2024, then was lights out with a 1.35 ERA through the Phillies' London Series in mid-June. He had been seizing the closer's role up to that point, but the rest of the way, the Phillies used others like Jeff Hoffman, Carlos Estevez and Matt Strahm.

Then there was the fast start to 2025, followed by the half-season ban.

Alvarado has basically seen it all in his time with the Phillies, and he's as important as ever this season with the Phillies' other recent bullpen southpaw staple, Strahm, traded to Kansas City in December.