Phillies Option Alvarado to Triple-A

The Philadelphia Phillies announced that they optioned reliever Jose Alvarado to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

The move comes in lieu of calling up Bailey Falter to slot into the rotation ahead of his start against the New York Mets on Friday.

Sending Alvarado down does not come as much of a surprise, as the left-hander has been disappointing thus far. He's pitched to a 7.62 ERA and 4.06 FIP in 13 innings this season.

In his last outing on May 25 against the Atlanta Braves, he surrendered a home run and allowed two hits in 0.2 innings of work. He's especially struggled in high-leverage situations, which he's found himself in quite often.

Quite frankly, the Phillies have their hands tied with Alvarado, and Manager Joe Girardi has been unable to find an appropriate role for him. With two options left, sending Alvarado down seemed like the best solution. 

Absent Alvarado, however, the Philadelphia bullpen is down to just one left-hander in Brad Hand. Not ideal.

Alvarado's timetable for return, or what the Phillies' overall plan is for him, is currently unknown.

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