PHILADELPHIA — Jose Alvarado looked on the verge of tears as he sat in the Phillies’ dugout Tuesday for the first time since May 18.

That was 67 games ago, when the Phillies announced Alvarado would be suspended 80 games by Major League Baseball for a failed test for performance-enhancing drugs.

It has been a long summer of waiting in his native Venezuela, and two weeks remain before Alvarado can return to the bigs. The hard-throwing lefty was contrite about his failed drug test while professing a desire to move on in his first conversations with media since the suspension.

“I’m just happy to be back,” Alvarado said via an interpreter. “It’s incredible to be back. I talked to all my teammates and the staff, and I apologized to them. I missed them deeply. I’m happy to be back and be around the guys, and I just can’t wait until I can contribute in some ways.”

Alvarado tested positive for exogenous testosterone, which the club said stemmed from an offseason weight loss drug that Alvarado took.

Alvarado tested positive once around two negative tests, the club said then, but neither the Phillies nor the player appealed the suspension. The 6-2, 245-pounder has tried to drop weight in the past, and the substance that led to the failed test had the added impact of bringing an area of personal struggle to more public light.

Alvarado left town before the suspension was announced, prior to a Sunday afternoon game, without talking to teammates or the media. He addressed teammates in the clubhouse Tuesday, and while he said he talked to some of them in the immediate aftermath, it was the first time he’d addressed it with most of those in the room.

Manager Rob Thomson was content with the speech and Alvarado’s acceptance of blame, and is ready for the team to move on.

“I think he’s in a good frame of mind,” Thomson said. “Really energetic, really happy to be here.”

Alvarado has been on a throwing program in Venezuela. He said he got away from some of the noise immediately after the suspension was announced, retreating to his home country to be with family.

He’s been on a throwing plan since and aims to return immediately when he 80 games elapse. He can start a minor-league assignment 15 days prior to the Aug. 19 return date, though Thomson said the club hadn’t yet determined a placement or plan.

Alvarado threw a bullpen session Tuesday that impressed Thomson.

“It went really well,” Thomson said. “Velocity was good, command was good, cutter was really good. So he looks like he’s been throwing.”

“I didn’t stop working whatsoever,” Alvarado said. “I went back home to Venezuela. He continued to play catch and throw bullpens and throw to hitters.”

Alvarado said he didn’t take the drug as a means to performance enhancement. He also didn’t believe that the drug led to any such improvements, such as having the fifth-highest fastball velocity in baseball at the time of his suspension.

After a 1.74 ERA in a lights-out 2023 campaign, Alvarado regressed noticeably to a 2-5 record and 4.09 ERA with 13 saves in 16 opportunities in 2024. He began this year with a 2.70 ERA and 4-1 record in 20 appearances, with five holds and seven saves in seven opportunities.

The distance from the game is motivation upon his return.

“I worked hard because I want to show the fans that I’m ready to go, and I want to contribute in whatever shape or form whenever I get the opportunity to pitch,” he said. “I will be ready to go and the Philadelphia fans will see the Jose Alvarado that they’ve always been seeing.”

The bullpen Alvarado will rejoin is much different than the one he left.

Jhoan Duran, acquired at the trade deadline from Minnesota, is entrenched as the closer, after the Phillies took a by-committee approach for most of last year and to start this season.

David Robertson, signed as a free agent, should be in the majors by the time Alvarado is rescheduled to join.

Orion Kerkering took down big innings in his absence, and both Tanner Banks and Matt Strahm have stepped up in left-handed leverage situations.

Alvarado is ineligible for the postseason this year, so any arrangement in August and September will have to be rebuilt for October if the Phillies make it there.

The Phillies have managed to withstand the loss of Alvarado’s energy, a big personality whose absence was felt even on days he didn’t pitch.

“I think it’s just a good group of guys to be able to pick each other up,” Kerkering said. “I think we’ve always been in that same mindset of being able to pick each other up when the other one’s down. And when Alvy’s down, we go help them out.”

Thomson wasn’t ready with specifics about roles on Tuesday. Alvarado wasn’t either, save for a general desire to get back out there. His eyes reddened when he talked about watching the Phillies from afar, switching over to English to convey his thoughts

“I watched my team every day,” he said. “It was hard because a couple of moments, I said to my family, this is my time. But you know, that happened.

“But I flush the toilet. That’s it. I’m here.”

Originally Published: August 5, 2025 at 7:16 PM EDT