Alvarez announced Sunday via his personal Twitter account that he'll return to the Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball after he wasn't able to finalize a minor-league contract with the Pirates.

EDGE Analysis

Reports surfaced just over a week ago that Alvarez would join the Pirates' 60-man roster pool, but the soon-to-be 30-year-old right-hander intimated that Pittsburgh ultimately chose to bring in another pitcher to fill the opening. Alvarez hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2017, when he made three starts for Philadelphia.

Alvarez is signing a minor-league deal with the Pirates on Sunday, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

EDGE Analysis

Alvarez spent 2019 at the Triple-A level and posted a 5.94 ERA, 1.62 WHIP and 37:18 K:BB over 53 innings. The 30-year-old last appeared in the majors with the Phillies as a starter in 2017, and he was playing with the Milwaukee Milkmen in independent ball before connecting with the Pirates.

Alvarez was reassigned to minor-league camp on Saturday, Byron Kerr of MASN Sports reports.

EDGE Analysis

Alvarez was in camp as a non-roster invitee but was never likely to make the team. He's made just seven big-league starts over the last four seasons, so his chances of making a significant impact this year are low.

Alvarez signed a minor-league contract with the Nationals on Monday, Jon Heyman of FancredSports.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

The deal includes an invitation to spring training, per Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post. Alvarez spent the 2018 season with Quintana Roo of the Mexican League, posting a 3.58 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 64:24 K:BB across 120.2 innings (19 starts). He owns a career 3.82 ERA across parts of five big-league seasons, though he hasn't been effective at the major-league level since his all-star campaign with the Marlins in 2014.

Alvarez signed with Tigres de Quintana Roo in the Mexican Baseball League on Friday, Jon Heyman of FanRagSports.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Alvarez has thrown just 14.2 major-league innings since 2015, all with the Phillies last year. His strikeout rate, which never went higher than 15.4 percent in any season, has been at 9 percent or below in each of his past two major-league seasons. The 27-year-old has a 3.82 career ERA in 577.2 major-league innings, an All-Star appearance, and a 12th-place finish in a Cy Young race, but couldn't find a job in Major League Baseball due to a combination of his injury history and lack of strikeouts.

Alvarez cleared waivers and will in turn become a free agent.

EDGE Analysis

Alvarez signed a minor-league deal with Philadelphia in August after pitching with the independent Long Island Ducks, and recorded three big-league starts during the month of September. During those outings, he allowed seven earned runs off 14 hits and 11 walks while striking out six in 14.2 innings. The right-hander hasn't' appeared in over five games since the 2014 season with the Marlins, and will look to latch on with a club in the coming months.

Alvarez allowed three runs on five hits and six walks over 4.2 innings in a no-decision against the Mets on Saturday. He did not record a strikeout.

EDGE Analysis

His control completely left him late in the outing -- Alvarez issued five walks in the fourth and fifth innings. He was able to minimize the damage, but this was a poor way to end the season, as Alvarez was essentially auditioning for other clubs. The former All-Star spent a good chunk of the year in independent ball after a long battle with shoulder issues.

Alvarez pitched five scoreless innings with two strikeouts during Saturday's loss to Atlanta. He didn't factor into the decision.

EDGE Analysis

This was just the second start of the season for Alvarez, so pitching five scoreless innings checks out as a rock-solid outing. However, he's now struck out just six batters through 10 innings, so his fantasy upside is extremely capped heading into his final outing of the year against the Mets at Citi Field. However, he could provide a boost in the ERA and WHIP columns.

Alvarez (0-1) allowed four runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four batters through five innings while taking the loss to Oakland on Sunday.

EDGE Analysis

This was the first start of the season for Alvarez, so it wasn't surprising to see the 27-year-old righty post a mediocre showing. Alvarez entered Sunday with a 4.7 K/9 through 563 innings, so his fantasy value is significantly capped by his lack of strikeout upside. He's probably best viewed as a risky option for his projected upcoming starts against the Braves at SunTrust Park and the Mets at Citizens Bank Park.

Manager Pete Mackanin said Alvarez will start Sunday against Oakland, Jim Salisbury of CSN Philadelphia reports.

EDGE Analysis

The Phillies are transitioning to a six-man rotation for the remainder of the season in order to get a look at Alvarez and to cut down on the innings of their other starters. Alvarez made his last appearance in the majors in 2015 with the Marlins. His fastball's been clocked as high as 98 mph this season, so the Phillies will give him some starts to see if he can be an option to compete for a rotation spot next spring.