Philadelphia bolstered its bullpen Saturday by acquiring one of the best available relief players, Los Angeles Angels shutout Carlos Estevez, in a deal that required giving up two promising players.
Estevez, who has been Los Angeles’ closing pitcher the past two seasons, will pitch in the late innings for Philadelphia, which has been looking for another reliable replacement pitcher for October. The price tag for the 31-year-old right-hander was steep. Philadelphia gave up two promising center fielders, George Klassen and Sam Aldighieri, in the deal.
It’s an aggressive trade for a Phillies team that has indicated in recent days that it is willing to pay to upgrade its bullpen.
“We’re trying to win,” Philadelphia president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters. “We think he’s a guy who can be a big part of that. We didn’t want to give up players. But we also knew we were going to have to give up something because the market is definitely sellers.”
Welcome to Philadelphia, Carlos!! pic.twitter.com/lvHxa0sHo0
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 27, 2024
Estevez, who is in the final months of his two-year, $13.5 million contract, doesn’t appear to be Philadelphia’s bottom-line catcher. Manager Rob Thompson is used to running the relief bullpen without innings. But Estevez is hitting and hitting hard. He’ll have opportunities to pitch at key moments.
The right-hander has a 2.38 ERA with 32 strikeouts and just five runs in 34 innings. (Two of those runs were intentional.) His fastball averages 96 mph, and he has more control over that velocity than any typical Philadelphia player.
He’s kept the ball in the field this season. He allowed three runs (on two home runs) against Philadelphia on April 30 and has since posted a 1.07 ERA in 25 1/3 innings. He’s allowed just one home run in that span. He’s certainly been a fly baller who’s benefited from some luck, so Philadelphia is betting that continues into October. Lefties have fared worse against him than righties have this season.
Estevez comes to Philadelphia on a scoreless streak of 18 innings. He has not allowed a goal since May 21.
The initial reaction to the trade within the industry was that Philadelphia had given up a big deal to acquire a rental relief player. Both Klassen and Aldgeri had worked their way up the prospect rankings with strong seasons, and opposing evaluators had positive reviews of both players. Major League sources said Philadelphia was keen to protect its top prospects, even when discussing non-rental players in trade deadline talks. They preferred to deal with the second-tier, which meant Klassen and Aldgeri.
Klassen, a sixth-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, wasn’t a hitter in college but has developed into a pitcher. Evaluators are divided on whether his future will be as a starter or a backup, but he’s made a good impression in 2024.
That’s what Aldighieri, who is seeking to become the first player of Italian descent to appear in the majors in 74 years, has done. Evaluators like the lefty’s feel for his secondary pitches. His fastball has been rated at 92-94 mph. Aldighieri is a potential backfield prospect. He reached the second division earlier this month.
Estevez joins a Philadelphia team that dominated the first three months of the season but has had little success since. Jeff Hoffman and Matt Strahum have been stars and will continue to see big opportunities. Jose Alvarado struggled in July but should work his way into the manager’s circle of trust. Orion Kerkering, the rookie right-hander, has plenty of skill but has had limited success.
That means there are five backups that Philadelphia should be happy with by October. It’s a solid team.
-Athlete Zach Maisel contributed to this report.
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