Pittsburgh Pirates Draft and minor leagues The
Pittsburgh Pirates selected Álvarez in the first round, with the second overall selection, in the
2008 MLB draft. He agreed to a $6 million
minor league contract with the Pirates on August 15, minutes before the deadline, but did not immediately sign it. He was placed on the restricted list after the
Major League Baseball Players Association filed a grievance against
Major League Baseball over draft picks being signed minutes after the August 15 deadline. On September 22, Álvarez agreed to renegotiated terms on a four-year major league contract at $6.4 million. In 2009, Álvarez attended
Spring training with the Pirates and was assigned to the minor league's spring training on March 16, 2009. After playing several months with the Pirates High-A affiliate,
Lynchburg Hillcats, Álvarez was assigned to Double-A
Altoona Curve in late June. Álvarez led the Pirates organization in home runs and RBI with 27 and 95 respectively. He also batted .288 with an .917 OPS.
2010 Álvarez started the 2010 season with the Pirates Triple-A affiliate, the
Indianapolis Indians, as the 8th-best prospect in Baseball America's 2010 rankings. In 66 games with the Indians, he hit .277 with 13 home runs, 53 RBI, and 4 stolen bases. Álvarez was called up to the MLB on June 16, 2010, and made his MLB debut against
John Danks of the
Chicago White Sox. He went 0-for-2 with a walk, a strikeout, and a run scored. His first MLB hit came against the
Cleveland Indians on June 19, an RBI double off Indians starter
David Huff. The following several weeks of his career did not go so smoothly, however. He struck out at least once in each of his first 10 games, capped off by a 4-strikeout game in a 14–4 loss to the
Oakland Athletics on June 25. Pirates manager
John Russell then gave him a day off. His first MLB home run came against the
Philadelphia Phillies on July 3, 2010, a solo shot to left field off of Phillies starter
Kyle Kendrick. Following his benching, Álvarez responded with an eight-game hitting streak from June 28 – July 6 that included 2 home runs, 3 runs scored and 4 RBI. Álvarez recorded his first MLB career multi-homer game on July 20, 2010 against the
Milwaukee Brewers. He hit a
grand slam in the first inning off Brewers starter
Dave Bush and then followed with a solo home run in the following inning. He finished the game 2-for-4 with two runs and five RBIs. He hit two home runs again the next night against the Brewers, going 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs. The home runs came against Milwaukee starter
Randy Wolf and reliever
Kameron Loe. After the game, Álvarez had raised his
batting average over 60 points, from .197 to .259, in just 11 days. "Obviously, those first few weeks, it's a million miles an hour, and as time goes on you get used to it a little bit more and more." said Álvarez of his early struggles. "It's very fun to go out there and play some good baseball and come out winning. It makes it that much better when you have a good day that you can celebrate with your teammates." On August 7, 2010, Pedro hit a walk-off 3 run
home run against the
Colorado Rockies closer
Huston Street. Álvarez was named
National League Player of the Week for September 20–26 for his performances. He finished the week 10-for-24 (.417) with 2 home runs and 13 RBIs. Álvarez continued his hot streak, going 4-for-5 with 5 RBIs on September 30 against the
Florida Marlins while raising his season batting average 8 points from .249 to .257. Álvarez finished the season by winning the
NL Rookie of the Month Award for September, hitting .311 and leading all Major League rookies with 26 RBIs in his final 27 games.
2011 Álvarez compiled a .208 batting average and a .587
OPS in 36 games. On May 21, 2011 Álvarez was placed on the 15-day disabled list. After being reinstated from the DL on July 9, 2011 he was optioned to the AAA
Indianapolis Indians. For the season, with the Pirates he batted .191/.272/.289 in 235 at bats.
2012 Álvarez decided not to spend the 2011–12 offseason playing winter league ball. After the first nine games of the 2012 season, he struck out 13 times in his first 27 at-bats. In an
interleague series against the
Cleveland Indians, Álvarez hit two home runs in back-to-back games on June 16 and 17, making him only the second Pirates' player with multi-home run games in back-to-back games since 1918, with
Ralph Kiner being the other player. Álvarez hit a go-ahead home run in the 19th inning against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 19, the longest game in the majors to that point in the season and tied for the longest in terms of time at 6 hours, 7 minutes. Álvarez hit a 469-ft home run, the longest hit by a Pittsburgh Pirate in the history of
PNC Park at the time, in a two-homer game against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 28. For the season, he batted .244/.317/.467, was second in the National League with 180 strikeouts, and led all NL players with 27 errors at third base. For the season, he batted .233/.296/.473, led the National League in strikeouts with 186, and led all NL third basemen with 27 errors. The Pirates announced on September 10 that Alvarez had been diagnosed with a
stress fracture in his left foot stemming from an injury he sustained in-game on August 26. He missed the remainder of the regular season, and was left off of the Wild Card Game roster against the
San Francisco Giants. For the season, he batted .231/.312/.405, and for the third season in a row led all NL players in errors, with 25 at third base. On December 2, 2015, Álvarez was non-tendered by the Pirates, making him a
free agent for the first time in his career.
Baltimore Orioles (2016–2018) On March 10, 2016, the
Baltimore Orioles signed Álvarez to a one-year, $5.75 million deal, which also included performance bonuses between $1.25 million and $1.5 million. Álvarez was hitless in his first 12 at-bat and batted .182 over his first 15 games. His struggles continued, as he hit just .194 through the end of May while playing in 34 games. In June, Álvarez raised his average up to .230. At the All-Star break, he slashed .249/.320/.462 while hitting nine homers and driving in 26 runs. On September 2 he hit his 20th home run of the season, becoming the sixth Oriole to hit 20+ homers on the year. It was his second career home run to land on Eutaw Street. For the season, he batted .249/.322/.504. In 2017, Álvarez only had 32 at-bats with the Orioles, and made four errors in nine chances at third base. With their AAA affiliate, the
Norfolk Tides, he batted .239/.294/.442. On February 25, 2018, Álvarez re-signed with the Orioles on a minor league contract. He had his contract purchased on March 29. On June 19, he was
designated for assignment; at the time, his
slash line was .180/.283/.414. Alvarez declared free agency on October 9, 2018.
Miami Marlins On December 3, 2018, Álvarez signed a minor league deal with the Miami Marlins. He was released on March 25, 2019, after opting out of his contract. ==Post-playing career==