Philadelphia Phillies Make Huge Trade For Angels’ Carlos Estevez: Reports

The Philadelphia Phillies landed a major blow in the escalating arms race ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline across Major League Baseball, acquiring closer Carlos Estévez from the Los Angeles Angels for a pair of prospects.

The Angels received pitching prospects George Klassen and Samuel Aldegheri in return.

Klassen, a right-hander, was ranked No. 5 on the Phillies’ prospects list according to Baseball America. Aldegheri, a left-hander, was ranked No. 7.

Estévez, a 31-year-old right-hander, had a 2.38 earned-run average and 20 saves in 23 chances this season for the Angels. He wasn’t merely a highly coveted trade target by many contending teams; Bob Nightengale of USA Today recently reported the Angels were “bombarded” with calls on the veteran closer.

Estévez was the American League Reliever of the Month in June after pitching 10 innings and allowing two hits and zero earned runs during the month. He notched 10 strikeouts and eight saves.

July has been more of the same for Estévez: seven scoreless appearances, one hit, two walks, and five strikeouts.

Now, he’ll head to a Phillies team that has one of the better bullpen units in the National League, but clearly has its sights set on a deep postseason run. At 64-39 through Friday, Philadelphia has the best record in Major League Baseball and will try to capture its first World Series championship since 2008 this October.

The Angels are 45-59 and a longshot to reach the postseason, let alone make noise in October. Estévez was practically expecting the trade.

“I always say that I never expect anything so I don’t get disappointed about anything,” Estévez recently told The Athletic’s Sam Blum. “But a lot of fans are tagging me on stuff like, ‘Oh, you’re getting traded.’ … Whatever comes, it is what it is. It is baseball. It’s a game that we all love, but at the same time, it is a business. Teams are going to do what’s best for them. Hopefully it’s a bright future for me. Whatever comes, I have open arms and open ears to hear.”

The trade deadline activity ticked up several notches on Saturday. The deadline for teams to acquire major league players without those players having to clear waivers first is 6 p.m. ET Tuesday.

Earlier Saturday, the Chicago Cubs acquired reliever Nate Pearson from the Toronto Blue Jays. The New York Yankees got infielder/outfielder Jazz Chisholm from the Miami Marlins. The Toronto Blue Jays also shipped catcher Danny Jansen to Boston, and right-hander Yimi Garcia to Seattle.

Friday, the Rays officially traded outfielder Randy Arozarena to Seattle, while the Red Sox got pitcher James Paxton from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Phillies completed their first big trade Friday, when they acquired outfielder Austin Hays from the Baltimore Orioles for relief pitcher Seranthony Dominguez and outfielder Cristian Pache.

Three days remain before the trade deadline buzzer sounds, and the action is already hot.