Philadelphia Phillies Land Star Closer in Deal with Los Angeles Angels

The Philadelphia Phillies have landed one of the top relief pitchers in baseball.

Jul 24, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Carlos Estevez (53) celebrates after a game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. / Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies are back on the board after trading for Austin Hays on Friday, landing right-handed clsoer Carlos Estevez from the Los Angeles Angels.

The Phillies will send George Klassen and Samuel Aldegheri to the Angels, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.

After moving Seranthony Dominguez in the deal for Hays, it was all but guaranteed that Philadelphia was going to add a relief pitcher who could replace him, and they did just that in a big way. Estevez was arguably the best reliever on the market, as the 2023 All-Star has posted a 2.38 ERA in 34.0 innings pitched for Los Angeles.

With many of the struggles that the Phillies bullpen has dealt with over the past few months, going out and adding someone who could close games if needed was the right thing to do.

It wouldn't be surprising to see them do even more, as this front office has never been one that isn't aggressive. With a chance to win a World Series, the expectation is for them to do anything they can to accomplish that.

Klassen and Aldegheri are two above-average prospects, especially Klassen, who's posted a 1.97 ERA in 2024. However, in a win-now situation, there isn't much of a reason to keep a 22-year-old that likely wouldn't make an impact for this team throughout the next few seasons.

The same could be said for Aldegheri, who's also 22-years-old. He was in Double-A Reading, and has posted a 3.23 ERA in 78.0 innings pitched this year.