Estévez open to any role ... but likely to close for Phillies

PHILADELPHIA -- Manager Rob Thomson said twice in the past two days that Carlos Estévez will get most of the high-leverage ninth-inning work as the newest member of the Phillies’ bullpen.

It sounds like he will be Philadelphia's closer, but don’t ask Thomson to call him that.

“I’m not going to get backed into that corner,” he said.

Since Thomson became the Phillies’ manager in June 2022, he has preferred to mix and match his relievers based on matchups. Part of that is because it has worked, but part of that is because he has not had a true closer in the Mariano Rivera sense of the word. Craig Kimbrel became the Phillies’ closer for much of the 2023 season, although Thomson never used that word to specifically describe him.

The Phillies acquired Estévez, 31, on Saturday from the Angels for pitching prospects George Klassen (who would have been the Phillies' No. 7 prospect in MLB Pipeline’s midseason re-rank) and Samuel Aldegheri (who would have been No. 12). Estévez said before Monday’s series opener against the Yankees that he is happy to pitch in any role.

“However I can put a grain of sand onto this beautiful beach that these guys built, I’m down to whatever, man,” he said.

A closer would allow Thomson to be more aggressive in how he deploys his other top relievers, seeking more advantageous matchups in the sixth through eighth innings. Thomson said perhaps the only scenario in which Estévez doesn’t pitch the ninth is if there is a major pocket of left-handed hitters due up.

“That would be the one situation where you’d think about using him in the eighth,” Thomson said. “It also depends on what lefties we have down there and how well they’re throwing it.”

Estévez went 1-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 20 saves with the Angels, striking out 32 and walking five in 34 innings. He has not surrendered a run in 18 consecutive appearances dating to May 28, allowing only five baserunners in 18 innings during that stretch.

Estévez’s four-seam fastball averages 96.4 mph, but he doesn’t spray his pitches around the plate. His 4% walk rate is tied with Phillies left-hander Matt Strahm for the 11th-lowest among 191 relievers with 30 innings pitched. Estévez’s walk rate was 11% last season.

He has thrown 59.6% of his pitches in the strike zone, which is the fifth-highest zone rate among 464 pitchers who have thrown at least 300 pitches.

“It wasn’t a main focus in the offseason, but hitting is really hard already -- let’s not make it easier for them,” said Estévez, when asked why he has been walking fewer batters this season. “Let’s just pound the strike zone and see what happens, what we can take from there. When you’re trying to make things more complicated, they do get more complicated. I try not to pump the gas on that, panic about throwing balls. I just try to pound the strike zone.”

Estévez will be a free agent after the season, but the Phillies paid a premium because they believe he gives them the best chance to win the World Series.

“We looked at some guys with [club] control,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said on Saturday. “It’s interesting being in our room when we had those types of conversations. The reality comes down [to], for me, we wanted the best guy to give us a chance to win this year. There might have been some guys that maybe we could’ve gotten with control, but we didn’t think they were as good of pitchers to win in the postseason. We just feel that he’s the right guy.

“It’s probably a little more than you’d like to give up for a rental, but who knows -- maybe we’ll sign him once the year’s over.”

The Phillies are still looking for help before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline, although Dombrowski indicated they will be OK if they don’t make another deal. A source confirmed reports that the Phillies have been monitoring White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet’s availability, but the Phillies remain unlikely to deal a top prospect or two to acquire him.