After acquiring outfielder Austin Hays from the Orioles early Friday afternoon, the Phillies’ front office focused on bolstering their bullpen. On Saturday, they completed their second transaction by trading pitching prospects George Klassen and Sam Aldegheri to the Los Angeles Angels for right-handed reliever Carlos Estevez.
Estevez, a 6-foot-6, 31-year-old, had been the Angels’ closer for the past two seasons. This year, he boasts a 2.38 ERA in 34 appearances and has been exceptional since Memorial Day, recording 18 consecutive scoreless outings and retiring 53 of the last 58 batters he faced.
As he is set to become a free agent after this season, Estevez represents a rental acquisition for the Phillies. If he performs well, they might consider keeping him. Jeff Hoffman is also a free agent after the season, and the only other prominent right-handed pitcher under contract for the long term is Orion Kerkering.
Estevez’s fastball averages 97 mph, and he primarily uses a fastball-slider combination against right-handed hitters, while employing a changeup about 25% of the time against lefties. He spent his first six seasons with the Rockies before excelling as a high-leverage reliever with the Angels last year. Like Hays, Estevez was an All-Star in 2023.
Interestingly, Estevez’s most challenging outing of the year was against the Phillies on April 30 in Anaheim, where he gave up ninth-inning homers to Nick Castellanos and Johan Rojas. Besides that game, he has allowed only six earned runs this season.
In return, the Phillies sent two promising 22-year-olds to the Angels. Klassen, who had a 0.71 ERA in nine starts with Class A Clearwater, was recently promoted to High A Jersey Shore. Aldegheri, who had a 3.18 ERA in 13 starts with Jersey Shore, was recently moved up to Double A Reading.
Leave a Reply