We’ve finally made it, folks. The end of our Season In Review series. 57 players, down just one to go. Who else to wrap up our review series than a potential closer? Right-hander Elvis Alvarado made his
big league debut this year for the Athletics and looked more than ready for the big leagues. Now the question is, how is he going to response to the league adjusting to him? There’s video on him now so he’ll have to make adjustments if he’s going to succeed in this league. Is 2025 set to be a breakout for the young righty?
How Was He Acquired?
A former outfielder by trade, the Dominican product first joined the pro ranks way back in 2015 when he signed with the Washington Nationals as a 17-year-old and made his professional debut two years later. His struggles with the bat were very real however and the next season he was converted to the mound as a reliever.
Over the next six seasons Alvarado would slowly creep up the minor league ladder with different organizations. First he was included in a trade package for major leaguers Hunter Strickland and Roenis Elias. Then he was selected in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft. Then he spent the ‘24 campaign in the Miami Marlins system, where he finally began opening some eyes with a strong performance at Triple-A, his first solid production at that level.
After that season he was a free agent and the A’s swooped in. The right-hander signed on with the Athletics on a minor league deal, joining a bunch of other names that were trying to crack the big league bullpen. Competition is good as the cream will rise to the top, and Alvarado seemed ready.
What Were The Expectations?
Coming off an impressive season with the Marlins’ Triple-A squad, Alvarado had yet to make his big league debut but that seemed like it was coming. When he signed on with the A’s they had little in the way of proven big league relievers, but plenty of questions about who would break camp with the club, who would fill what role, and who would be around for the next playoff team. Alvarado had done well the previous year against the toughest competition the minor leagues has to offer, but he’d yet to be tested against actual major league lineups. Expectations were low, but it’s the name of the game when you roll the dice on arms like Alvarado in today’s game.
2025 Results
There was almost no chance he was going to crack the Opening Day roster, even if he had had a stellar or perfect Spring Training. He then began the year down in Triple-A with Las Vegas, waiting for a spot to open in the big league unit.
Las Vegas decided to go with Alvarado as one of their top late-game options early in the season. Over the course of the first month of the season he was their top option for the ninth inning, racking up five saves and looking as good as he did the previous year. And that got the A’s notice.
On May 9th the A’s brought him to the big leagues for the very first time, and he made his major league debut later that night against the New York Yankees. He allowed a pair of runs in a cleanup outing in a blowout loss, and allowed a single run two days later in another blowout against the Yanks. The big league team just needed an extra body during that time and after two appearances he was returned to Triple-A.
The right-hander continued doing what he was doing down on the farm and only had to wait three short weeks before returning to the A’s. Again, this stint lasted just two appearances and again he allowed runs in both. And again, he was soon returned to the Aviators. Not the best start to a big league career, allowing runs in each of your first four appearances.
It may have just been nerves for the young pitcher though. The Athletics once again recalled Alvarado for another go-round with the big boys and this time he stuck. He finally put together his first scoreless appearance at the end of June, conquering some demons by keeping the Yankees off the board. That was the first in a string of seven consecutive scoreless outings, and he only gave up two runs (both in the same game) in the entirety of July.
That didn’t earn him any save opportunities, but it did buy him some time to stick in the big leagues. He followed that stellar July with a middling August, but really stepped his game back up when September came around. Over the course of the final month of the season the right-handed Alvarado began to actually look comfortable on the mound and it showed. He posted a 1.69 ERA over the final month, allowing just a pair of runs in 10 2/3 frames. He would ultimately wrap up his rookie campaign with a solid 3.19 ERA across 37 appearances for the A’s.
2026 Outlook
After his successful rookie campaign, there were some within the building hyping up Alvarado as a potential option for the ninth inning. After all, he does possess some serious heat on his fastball and he pairs that with a quality slider, but the question is going to be his command of those pitches. He showed his punchout ability but now he needs to master his control, something that hopefully he’s been working on this offseason.
There isn’t currently a named closer for the Athletics at this moment and it doesn’t seem like the club is going to bring in anymore high-priced relievers to take that role. Which means we’ll have a camp battle on our hands for the closer’s role. His primary competition is likely to be Michael Kelly (3.18 ERA last year), Hogan Harris (4-for-4 in save chances), Justin Sterner (team-leading six blown saves), and Tyler Ferguson (4.66 ERA). Ferguson and Sterner profile better as middle relief or setup men, and Harris is the top left-hander in the bullpen right now so that may work against him in that regard. He didn’t record a big league save during his rookie campaign but he’s got experience in the ninth with 31 career saves in the minors. After his stellar finish to the year Alvarado should be in a good position to fight for that spot with a strong camp, and at the very absolute least break camp with the club when they head to Toronto to begin the regular season.
