PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies acquired closer Carlos Estévez from the Los Angeles Angels for a pair of minor league pitching prospects as they strengthen their bullpen for a run at their first World Series championship since 2008.
Estévez has 20 saves in 23 chances this season, a year after he had 31 saves and was an All-Star for the Angels.
The 31-year-old Estévez, a native of the Dominican Republic, originally signed with Colorado in 2011 and made his major league debut in 2016. He has 76 saves in 418 career appearances, all in relief.
Estévez has a $6.75 million salary in the second season of a $13.5 million, two-year contract and can become a free agent after the World Series.
Philadelphia lost the World Series in 2022 to Houston and lost in the NL Championship Series a year ago to Arizona. The Phillies entered Saturday’s game against Cleveland with the best record in baseball at 64-39 but had lost seven of 10 games.
The Phillies sent the Angels minor league pitchers George Klassen and Samuel Aldegheri to land Estévez.
Estévez was expected to help strengthen a bullpen that lost an arm Friday, after they traded Seranthony Domínguez to Baltimore as part of a trade for outfielder Austin Hays.
Estévez has a streak of 18 straight scoreless innings. He set an Angels franchise record when he converted his first 23 save opportunities to begin the 2023 season.
The 22-year-old Aldegheri, 22, was 6-7 with a 3.23 ERA in 15 starts between Class A Jersey Shore and Double-A Reading this season. He was originally signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent on June 13, 2019.
The 22-year-old Klassen was 3-2 with a 1.97 ERA in 14 starts for Class A Clearwater and Jersey Shore this year. He was originally selected by the Phillies in the sixth round of the 2023 amateur draft.
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