Philadelphia Phillies Must Bring Back 'Game-Changing' Free Agent Closer

The Philadelphia Phillies acquired one of the best closers in baseball and now need to decide if they are going to prioritize bringing him back.

Oct 8, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Carlos Estevez (53) pitches in the eighth inning against the New York Mets during game three of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies traded for one of the best closers in baseball at the deadline, but it was just a rental. Now, the team needs to consider how much they want to bring him back in free agency.

Zach Pressnell of FanSided examined the state of the reliever free agent market and came up with the conclusion that Carlos Estevez is one of the few 'game-changing' closers available.

"Estevez flashed dominance last season. He was dominant with the Los Angeles Angels before being traded to the Phillies, where he finished the season," said Pressnell. "Philadelphia will likely be aggressive in trying to get him back because they traded a ton to acquire him, but anybody that lands Estevez is getting an elite level closer."

The Phillies shipped pitching prospects Samuel Aldegheri and George Klassen to the Angels at the trade deadline in order to secure Estevez for the final stretch of the season.

They knew they would only be guaranteed his services through the end of the year, but were desperate enough to win to trade away a couple of solid prospects to get the deal done. Neither prospect is in the Top 100, but they are both still very valuable.

Klassen is the third overall prospect in the Los Angeles farm system and flashed some solid stuff in his Double-A debut after the trade.

It was his first season of minor league ball, a sixth-round draft pick in 2023 and he's looking very promising.

Aldegheri, a southpaw, is a little bit lower at eight, but he's already made his big league debut. He has a quality start, but his other two outings were a bit more rocky.

The price tag was high, but the performance that they got out of Estevez was not at all disappointing. Obviously, they didn't win the World Series like they had hoped, but he did his part.

Over the final 20 outings of the season, he picked up six saves and posted an ERA of 2.57. He gave up one earned run in the postseason, but wasn't to blame for the losses.

Philadelphia is now once again without a closer under contract, so it would make sense that the team should go all out to bring Estevez back.

There aren't many options that would be a better value than the 31-year-old, especially if they want to avoid trading away even more assets in the process.