Phillies place Alvarado on restricted list; recall Mercado from Lehigh Valley

The Phillies have placed left-handed pitcher José Alvarado on the restricted list and he has left the club to deal with a personal matter. To fill his spot on the 26-man roster, right-handed pitcher Michael Mercado was recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski made the announcement.

Alvarado, 29, has made 56 relief appearances this season and converted 13 of his 16 save opportunities with a 4.30 ERA (25 ER, 52.1 IP) with 52 strikeouts to 25 walks. This season, he has held the 65 left-handed batters he’s faced to a .131/.185/.246 (.431 OPS) slash line and has only issued one walk to a left-handed batter since April 13.

Originally signed by the Tampa Bay Rays as an amateur free agent on March 13, 2012, Alvarado was acquired by the Phillies in a three-team trade with Tampa Bay and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Dec. 29, 2020.

Mercado, 25, appeared in four games (two starts) in his first stint with the Phillies this season, including his major league debut on June 24. He went 1-2 with a 9.26 ERA (12 ER, 11.2 IP) and earned the win in his first career start on July 2, when he pitched 5.0 innings and allowed only one run on two hits.

Originally selected by Tampa Bay in the second round of the 2017 MLB Draft, Mercado was acquired by the Phillies from the Rays in exchange for right-handed pitcher Adam Leverett and cash considerations on Nov. 6, 2023.