The Philadelphia Phillies bullpen star will likely look for a new home in free agency

The Philadelphia Phillies made moves over the summer at the trade deadline with the goal of strengthening an already competitive team and, in turn, making a very strong postseason run.

With a loss to the New York Mets in four games in the NLDS, the team fell well short of that goal, and as a result some awkward decisions had to be made about whether to spend capital to bring back impact players in free agency from a Phillies team that ultimately fell short of expectations. One of the players is bullpen fireball hurler Carlos Estévez.

Philadelphia sent two young players, George Klassen and Samuel Aldegheri, to the Los Angeles Angels to get Estévez to strengthen the bullpen, a group that so often makes the difference between winning and losing in October. Estévez certainly didn’t disappoint either, posting a 2.57 ERA in 20 appearances with the Phillies, including six saves. After the team seemingly only signed him for a year, FanSided’s Zach Pressnell expects Estévez to end up with whoever is willing to offer him the most money after giving up the season-ending grand slam to Francisco Lindor effectively ended.

“He probably secured a relatively large contract this offseason. He owes no loyalty to the Phillies and I would expect him to end up with the team that gives him the most money,” Pressnell wrote. “…after allowing the home run that ended their season, some fans may not even want to see him again.”

Between Los Angeles and Philadelphia, 2024 was a career season for Estévez. With a career-low ERA and a career-low WHIP of 0.909, Estévez could be starting to reach his peak as a relief pitcher in his eight-year career. He will be 32 years old at the start of the 2025 season and may only have one chance to make money and get the biggest contract of his career.

It feels like this big contract isn’t going to happen with the Phillies, but the team would at least be wise to make an offer. Reliable 100-mph fastball back-end bullpen guys don’t come along every day, and seeing what Estévez can accomplish with a full season in Philadelphia should be intriguing for the team’s brass.