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Phillies stay or go seriesRob Thomson | Dave Dombrowski | Kyle Schwarber | Ranger Suárez | J.T. Realmuto | Nick Castellanos | Harrison Bader | Alec Bohm | Max Kepler | Walker Buehler | Taijuan Walker | The bullpen | Rafael Marchán, Weston Wilson, Edmundo Sosa, Otto Kemp Stay or go candidates The Phillies will have to make decisions on the following arms: José Alvarado: Alvarado is a complex case. He was the team's best reliever for the early part of the 2025 season before a big suspension for steroid use sidelined him until August. He had a 2.70 ERA over his first 20 innings and one of the liveliest fastballs in the majors, and then allowed five runs over six innings upon his return. Alvarado is 30, and has a $9 million team option with a $500,000 buy out. Phillies President Dave Dombrowski seemed to nod in the direction of Alvarado's return when he spoke to the media earlier in October. "I’d be surprised without making any announcements that Alvarado’s not back with us. But we’ll see what ends up happening," Dombrowski said. The Phillies would love to have the guy from the first half of the season back, pitching from the left side and providing heat in late innings. But he really let the team down when he was caught using illegal substances and missed 80 games. The Phillies shut him down at the end of the year with a forearm strain but he should be healthy for spring training. David Robertson: The second biggest decision for the Phillies' bullpen is Robertson, who returned to the team for a third time midseason and pitched decently, but not great, over 17.2 late season innings with a 4.08 ERA. Robertson will be 41 next season and it would be hard to justify paying him much with so many young pitchers they can go with instead. It seems unlikely he'll get another go of it with the Phillies, especially after he surrendered two runs while retiring just one hitter in his only postseason appearance. Seth Johnson: Johnson has no minor league options remaining so his fate will be decided during roster cutdowns in spring training if he remains on the roster. He pitched 12.2 innings in the majors and was acquired from Baltimore in the Gregory Soto trade. Tim Mayza: The lefty only played in eight games with the Phillies and was nothing special with a 4.91 ERA. Lou Trivino: A righty, Trivino also had a short stint with the Phillies but was pretty solid with a 2.00 ERA over nine innings late in the season. Jordan Romano, Joe Ross: We won't waste your time here. These two were highly touted and flamed out big time, with neither lasting on the roster until the postseason. Some other names To be circumspect, the Phillies will likely be bringing back Daniel Robert, Seth Johnson, Michael Mercado and Nolan Hoffman. All of these arms pitched in the majors at some point in 2025 and each is under team control as well as flush with minor league options. What do you think? SIGN UP HERE to receive the PhillyVoice Sports newsletter Follow Evan on Twitter:@evan_macy Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
