It was a relatively quiet offseason for the Philadelphia Phillies, and it was the players who the team didn’t re-sign that had fans talking. While the club has received a lot of scrutiny from fans for not bringing back Jeff Hoffman after his career resurgence, there is another former Phillies reliever out there who has turned heads so far with their new club this season.
Carlos Estévez left the Phillies in free agency, as the 32-year-old reliever signed a two-year deal with the Kansas City Royals worth $22 million with an option for a third year. So far in 2025, Estévez has been a vital part of the Royals bullpen, posting a 2-1 record with a 1.82 ERA and an American League league-leading 19 saves heading into Saturday's action.
He's on track for a career year and looks like a good bet to get his second-career All-Star nod. He recently notched his 100th career save on June 5, with a majority of them coming in the last three seasons.
Congrats on 💯 career saves, Carlos! pic.twitter.com/uIZtAsbH9o
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) June 6, 2025
Estévez joined the Phillies last July when he was dealt by the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for pitching prospects Samuel Aldegheri and George Klassen. He performed well in the back end of the bullpen over the final months of the season, pitching to a 3-2 record to go along with a 2.57 ERA and six saves in 20 outings.
While his regular season performance was solid, fans may remember him for giving up the home run to Francisco Lindor that ultimately put a damper in the Phillies comeback hopes in the NLDS against the New York Mets. It is worth noting though that Estévez did have a respectable 3.38 ERA for the Phillies in the postseason as a whole.
Carlos Estévez would look good in a Phillies uniform right about now
Despite repeated interest from both sides prior to and during the offseason, they were unable to reach a deal, putting an end to his brief Phillies tenure.
With the suspension of José Alvarado, and the struggles of Jordan Romano, Matt Strahm and former Royals pitcher Carlos Hernández, who was mercifully DFA'd recently, the decision to part ways with a quality reliever like Estévez continues to look like a big mistake. This is especially true given the fact that you had to deal several big name prospects to bring him to Philadelphia in the first place.
Klassen and Aldegheri have both gone on to become top prospects in the Angels system, with the latter already making several appearances with the big league club and picking up his first MLB win last season, per MLB.com's Dave Sessions. The Phillies, however, only received Estévez in the trade and now have nothing to show for it. Their bullpen also has the 23rd worst ERA at 4.48.
Of course, hindsight is always 20/20, but fans can only wonder if the team made the right decision when it comes to Carlos Estévez.