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It's tough to get a feel for what the Philadelphia Phillies plan to do with Carlos Estevez. Most rumors suggest that he'll be on his way out, but after trading for him at the deadline, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Phillies make a long-term commitment to the right-hander.
On one hand, he came in and did exactly what he had to do, making him an intriguing candidate to keep around. On the other, his new deal might be something Philadelphia isn't willing to pay.
Relievers' values aren't easy to calculate. Estevez proved to be one of the top in Major League Baseball, but if the Phillies believe they have somebody in the farm system or they could sign someone else to a cheaper deal with above-average stuff, that's often the direction a club goes.
Either way, Estevez is set to get paid handsomely, whether in Philadelphia or not.
In the latest prediction from Jim Bowden of The Athletic, the veteran landed a three-year, $33 million deal with the Chicago Cubs, a contract the Phillies could pay if they wanted to.
"After adding Matthew Boyd to their rotation, the Cubs need to bolster their bullpen and Estévez would be a good fit. He’s coming off a strong year in which he posted a 2.38 ERA over 34 appearances with 20 saves for the Angels before being dealt to the Phillies at the trade deadline. He put up a 2.57 ERA over 20 appearances with six saves for Philadelphia. Batters hit under .200 against all of his arsenal, including his four-seamer, slider and changeup."
$11 million AAV almost feels too good to be true for the 31-year-old, but that's where most predictions are at.
At the trade deadline, Estevez was arguably the hottest name on the market. Outside of Tanner Scott, he was the prized possession of the reliever market.
2024 was by far the best campaign of his career, which could hurt his chances of getting paid as much as some of the other top relievers available, but it's tough to ignore what he did. He posted a 2.45 ERA and 0.9 WHIP in 55.0 innings.
The only thing Estevez was lacking was in the strikeout department. He struck out just 50 hitters in that span, and many of the other top relievers on the market have much better strikeout stuff.
Ball clubs often want swing-and-miss stuff in the back end of their bullpen, and he didn't always have that.
More must-reads:
- Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani reaches yet another incredible milestone
- Padres already demoting one of their trade-deadline acquisitions
- The 'MLB playoff home run leaders' quiz
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Novak Djokovic sparks major concern ahead of U.S. Open
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