José Ricardo Álvarez (born May 6, 1989) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League.

[2] Álvarez advanced as high as Single–A before being traded in November 2009 with Hunter Jones to the Florida Marlins organization in exchange for Jeremy Hermida.

[1] In 2010 Álvarez was third in the Single–A South Atlantic League in wins as he went 10–3 with the Greensboro Grasshoppers with a 3.58 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 108 innings.

[2][3] At the end of the 2012 season Álvarez was released, and he was picked up by the Detroit Tigers on November 8, 2012, as a minor league free agent.

[8] Álvarez was called up to the majors for the first time on June 9, 2013, and made his debut starting in place of Aníbal Sánchez.

[8] He was sent back to the Toledo Mud Hens that same day[10] and was recalled June 20 to start again in place of Sánchez.

[4][13] Álvarez was called upon by the Angels 64 times in the 2015 season, posting a 4–3 record with a 3.49 ERA, and 59 strikeouts in 67 IP.

[3] Álvarez made 64 appearances for the third straight season in 2017 for the Angels, registering an 0–3 record with one save and an ERA of 3.88 and 45 strikeouts in 48+2⁄3 innings.

[15] Alvarez made his first start in five years on June 1, 2019, as the Phillies' opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

[18] In 2020, during an August 20 game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Alvarez was struck in the groin by a line drive hit, leading to an injury that caused him to be inactive for the remainder of the season.

[11] In 2022, Álvarez made 21 appearances for San Francisco, posting a 2–1 record and 5.28 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 15.1 innings pitched.

He was optioned to Triple-A Toledo to begin the year,[22] but spent the entire season on the injured list as he recovered from surgery.