After years toiling, Carlos Estévez is happy to join a star-laden Phillies core: ‘I’m in the right place’
And Estévez is more than just another reliever, especially given the prospect capital that the Phillies paid for him. “He’s going to get the bulk of the ninth innings,” Rob Thomson said.
Two days after getting whisked away from another nose-holding season with the noncontending Los Angeles Angels, Carlos Estévez brought his big right arm to the Phillies’ bullpen and poetry to the clubhouse.
“However I can put a grain of sand on this beautiful beach that these guys built here,” Estévez said Monday, “I’m down for whatever, man.”
Walt Whitman couldn’t have written it better. But in the shadow of the bridge that bears Whitman’s name, with the best team in the National League, Estévez is more than just another reliever, especially given the prospect capital that the Phillies paid for him.
» READ MORE: Carlos Estévez was the Phillies’ top trade-deadline pitching target. His former coach explains his rise.
Rob Thomson won’t call Estévez by the “C” word, but listen to how the manager plans to use his new, hard-throwing righty.
“He’s going to get the bulk of the ninth innings,” Thomson said.
Sounds like a closer, doesn’t it?
Estévez, 31, was generally considered the top reliever on the trade block, according to two talent evaluators from National League teams. And to the chagrin of other reliever-needy clubs, the Phillies set the price in what was already a seller’s market by sending promising 22-year-old pitching prospects George Klassen and Samuel Aldegheri to the Angels.
With the hours ticking down until Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline, the Phillies were sniffing around for more bullpen help, multiple sources said. And there’s room in the Phillies’ stable for another reliever, albeit probably not another closer type.
Last year, Thomson used a total of eight relievers in both the division series and NL Championship Series. Estévez essentially takes the place of Craig Kimbrel, who left as a free agent last winter, and joins Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm, José Alvarado, and Orion Kerkering in Thomson’s inner circle of trust. Gregory Soto also has late-inning experience.
Thomson tends to turn to the bullpen earlier and more often in playoff games. Last year, Phillies relievers logged 37.7% of the regular-season innings, then took down 14⅓ of 35 innings (40%) in the divisional round and 25⅔ of 61⅓ innings (41.2%) in the NLCS.
Knowing that Estévez has the ninth inning will enable Thomson to be more aggressive with how he uses his other high-leverage relievers.
» READ MORE: Bryce Harper on Phillies’ bulked-up roster heading into trade deadline: ‘Superstars got to show up’
“I think so, yeah,” Thomson said. “It just gives us a lot of depth down there, one more solid arm, another power arm. It’s really nice to have.”
Seranthony Domínguez was part of the mix until last Friday, when the Phillies traded him to the Orioles for righty-hitting outfielder Austin Hays. Dave Dombrowski, the Phillies’ president of baseball operations, said he didn’t feel compelled to replace Domínguez with another trade. It’s possible they will get injured Spencer Turnbull back late in the season to play a multi-inning relief role.
But if the Phillies are able to upgrade the last seat or two in the bullpen — José Ruiz and Yunior Marté are the primary occupants — well, they probably will.
Either way, Dombrowski’s heavy lifting was finished before Deadline Eve. Besides, the biggest factor in whether the Phillies win the World Series isn’t whether they’re able to snatch up another high-leverage reliever for the middle innings of a playoff game.
Right, Bryce Harper?
“[The] superstars got to show up,” Harper said Sunday.
He’s right, of course.
Most evaluators agree that the Phillies have the most complete roster in baseball. For the other NL contenders, trade-deadline day will be about trying to close the gap. The Los Angeles Dodgers swung a three-team trade Monday for versatile Tommy Edman and reliever Michael Kopech; the injury-ravaged Atlanta Braves are reportedly interested in Chicago White Sox ace Garrett Crochet.
The latter would be of great interest to the Phillies because Crochet would give the Braves a third lefty starter (with Chris Sale and injured Max Fried) to throw at lefty-hitting Harper and Kyle Schwarber in a playoff series.
Crochet is also reportedly a target for the Dodgers, who have had the best injured-list rotation in baseball. Tyler Glasnow (back) and Clayton Kershaw (shoulder) recently returned, and Walker Buehler (hip) is getting closer. But Los Angeles is less sure about when Yoshinobu Yamamoto (shoulder) will be back. Shohei Ohtani (elbow) is a slugger-only until next season.
So, the Phillies had less to do than their NL rivals. Despite losing four consecutive series — and nine of 13 games, including Monday night’s 14-4 thumping by the New York Yankees — they still had the best record in baseball, an 8½-game lead over the Braves in the division, and a three-game edge over the Dodgers for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
And they also have stars at first base (Harper), shortstop (Trea Turner), catcher (J.T. Realmuto), right field (Nick Castellanos), designated hitter (Schwarber), and on the mound (Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola) who make at least $20 million per year and will have a greater impact on the team’s postseason fate than a platoon outfielder or extra reliever.
But Estévez is part of that star-laden core now. The Phillies gave up a prospect haul Saturday night because they believe in his improved command (4% walk rate this season, down from 11% last year), emerging slider and changeup, and 97-mph fastball.
Oh, and they can close their eyes and imagine him throwing the final pitch of a playoff series. Never mind that Estévez has been to the playoffs only once and not since 2017, when the Colorado Rockies were bounced in the one-game wild-card showdown.
“I was looking forward to feeling that again, that playoff competition feeling,” Estévez said. “I’m in the right place and I’m really excited for it.”