Mets: Five under the radar pitching free agent candidates to consider

Jose Alvarez

Jose Alvarez is a 31-year-old southpaw from Venezuela who was signed as a teenager with the Boston Red Sox organization in 2005. He made his Major League debut with the Tigers in 2013 but was traded after that year to the Anaheim Angels. From 2015 to 2018, Alvarez was a workhorse out of the bullpen for the Angels, making 270 appearances as a reliever in five seasons.

In that time he posted a 3.35 ERA and averaged just under a strikeout an inning. He had a FIP of 3.45 in that time span as well. The Phillies acquired Alvarez in 2019 and in two seasons with Philadelphia, he has posted a 3.17 ERA in 75 appearances.

Alvarez took a painful line-drive shot to the groin in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020 and cut his season short. He had made 8 appearances last year for the Phillies before that painful accident. Seven of those eight appearances were scoreless and Alvarez had a 1.42 ERA before the incident.

With the Mets possibly losing lefty reliever Justin Wilson to free agency this offseason, Alvarez might be the guy who can come in and replace him on the cheap. Alvarez was only making a little over $1 million a year last year and if back to his old self, shouldn’t cost Steve Cohen more than $1.5 million a year to bring into the fold in this depressed free agent market. Alvarez, when pitching a full season, can be counted on to add anywhere from .5 to .75 WAR a year for whatever club he throws with.