4 Teams That Could Poach All-Star Pitcher From Philadelphia Phillies in Free Agency

This Philadelphia Phillies former All-Star pitcher is going to have plenty of suitors this offseason.

Sep 4, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Carlos Estevez (53) throws a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays during the ninth inning at Rogers Centre. / Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

While it ended up not being a strength during their short stay in the postseason, the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen was very strong during the regular season.

Manager Rob Thomson took a unique approach, not giving anyone specific roles. He would call on players at any point in the game that important outs were needed and more often than not, they would answer the call.

Heading into the offseason, the Phillies have a few key relievers hitting the open market. One of them is Carlos Estevez, who they acquired ahead of the deadline from the Los Angeles Angels.

His time in Philadelphia was solid, as he emerged as a reliable late-game option. His postseason struggles may scare away a few teams, but he should be able to leverage that into a multi-year deal in free agency.

Who will be interested in a veteran with 82 saves on his resume? Here are four teams that could poach Estevez away from the Phillies.

Boston Red Sox

Comments made by last season’s closer Kenley Jansen certainly give the impression that he will not be back in Beantown as he gets ready for free agency himself. After saving 27 games in 2024 with a 3.29 ERA across 54.2 innings, that would be a sizable void to fill in the backend of the bullpen.

Estevez would be a nice replacement on a somewhat affordable projection. His AAV is expected to be somewhere in the $11 million range. For a team on the rise, it would certainly make sense to add a reliable performer to their bullpen to handle high-leverage situations.

Baltimore Orioles

If anything, the Orioles are on this list to make sure that one of their American League East rivals doesn’t improve. And, their bullpen is in need of dire improvements after the Craig Kimbrel experiment imploded near the end of 2024.

Seranthony Dominguez took over a late-game role for Baltimore after being acquired from Philadelphia ahead of the deadline. He recorded 10 saves with his new team but had a shaky 3.97 ERA and an FIP of 5.33 that hinted things could have been worse.

Pittsburgh Pirates

It hasn’t happened yet and skepticism is rampant that ownership will not open their pockets to allow the front office to spend. But, with a plethora of young starting pitching, this is the time to maximize their value and upgrade around them.

The bullpen, which was expected to be a strength in 2024, was a weakness at times with All-Star close David Bednar not producing. He was eventually demoted, as he was not his normal dominant self.

Figuring things out with him is important, but having another reliable option, such as Estevez, would make a lot of sense. Given how anemic this offense is, bolstering the bullpen is a must as the Pirates will be playing a lot of close games.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The 2023 National League champs were unable to find their footing in the first half of the 2024 campaign. They came on in the second half, but the slow start and early hole was too much to dig out of along with the red-hot performance of the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves.

Heading into the offseason, they will have a few decisions to make with free agents; Christian Walker being arguably the biggest. But, if they want to continue contending in the NL, adding some bullpen help would be smart.

Paul Sewald held the closer role, recording 16 saves with a 4.21 ERA in 42 appearances across 39.2 innings. Coming off a somewhat down year and set to hit free agency, the Diamondbacks could look for an upgrade, such as Estevez, before circling back to him.