Best sights of spring: smiling Jose Alvarado

The Rays have traded away Emilio Pagan, and yet there is reason to hope that their bullpen will not regress from its strong performance in 2019. One reason for optimism? The return of Jose Alvarado.

Last year, Alvarado pitched terribly and missed a great deal of time as he struggled with unspecified personal problems as well as health issues.

But it’s a near year, and he’s back. According to reports, his family is now able to join him from Venezuela. We are still weeks away from seeing whether he has regained his effectiveness on the mound, but this short interview has me very heartened that at least he’s fully present for baseball this season:

His relative comfort being interviewed, his smile, his expressions of optimism bode well for a good season.

You can refresh your memory with Jim Turvey’s analysis of his pitch mix, and Mike Petriello’s paean to his sinker.