It took newly-acquired Philadelphia Phillies reliever Carlos Estévez just a few questions into his first meeting with the local media to deliver the quote of the season when he was asked about what his role will be.
“Honestly, in a group like this, however I can put a grain of sand to this beautiful beach that these guys built here, I’m down for whatever, man.
Estévez was acquired Saturday in a trade that sent pitching prospects George Klassen and Samuel Aldegheri to the Los Angeles Angels. Phillies Nation‘s Ty Daubert ranked Klassen No. 4 and Aldegheri No. 10 in his most recent ranking of the organization’s top prospects. But the Phillies landed Estévez, who could be one of the pieces that helps put the club over the top in their pursuit of a World Series title.
Under the regime of president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and manager Rob Thomson, the Phillies haven’t typically anointed one pitcher as the closer. Craig Kimbrel was the de-facto closer for much of 2023, but was never formally given the title. It sounds like if all goes well with Estévez, he could find himself in a similar situation for the remainder of the season with the Phillies.
“He’s going to get the bulk of the ninth innings, that’s how I view it,” Thomson said before Monday’s series opener with the New York Yankees.
What about in a situation where a left-handed pocket is coming up in the ninth? Say you’re facing the Los Angeles Dodgers and both Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman are slated to hit in the ninth inning. Would Thomson still hold Estévez for the ninth, or potentially have him pitch earlier and set José Alvarado up to come in for the save situation?
“Yeah, I mean that would be the one situation where you’re thinking about using him in the eighth,” Thomson acknowledged. “And it also depends what lefties we have down there, and how well they’re throwing.”
Jeff Hoffman has been the best reliever for the Phillies this year, pitching to a minuscule 1.02 ERA across 45 games. The first-time All-Star is tied with Mason Miller of the Oakland A’s and Cade Smith of the Cleveland Guardians for the best WAR among relievers this year at 1.8, per FanGraphs. He hasn’t been the closer, but when a right-handed option fit best in ninth, he has been the primary guy to this point. Thomson said he talked with Hoffman — who is in a contract year — and told him that while this doesn’t mean he’ll never come on in a save situation, Estévez is likely to get a lot of the opportunities in the ninth.
Thomson was asked whether it surprises him that the Phillies have a slew of relievers — Hoffman, José Alvarado, Matt Strahm and Orion Kerking, among them — that are willing to set their egos aside and pitch in whatever inning is best for the team.
“I truly believe that all 26 guys … well, there’s more than 26 because we got some in the minor leagues too … they want to win,” Thomson said. “And whatever it takes to win, they’re willing to do. I really believe that’s where they are at.”
Is it uncommon to have such an unselfish group?
“I think so, yeah,” Thomson admitted. “So it’s great to have. It’s a good group.”
Estévez has 51 saves in 58 attempts since the start of the 2023 season. He was a first-time All-Star a year ago, but the 31-year-old was having a career-year for the Angels in 2024, having posted a 2.38 ERA and 0.735 WHIP across 34 appearances.
What jumps out looking at Estévez’s numbers this season is that he’s walked just five batters over 34 innings. Last year, he issued 31 walks over 62 1/3 innings pitched for the Halos.
“Honestly, it wasn’t like a main focus in the offseason, but hitting is really hard already, let’s not make it easier for them,” Estévez said of his approach in 2024. “Let’s just pound the strike zone and see what happens, what we can take from there.”
Estévez’s attempt to contribute sand to the only beach in the city of Philadelphia could begin as soon as Monday night against the Yankees. And the Phillies would be struck by the beauty of him being able to set down Juan Soto and/or Aaron Judge if that’s what it takes to secure a win in the series opener.
