Former Phillie Carlos Estévez departs in free agency for Royals

Reliever Carlos Estévez's brief tenure with the Phillies is over.

ESPN's Jeff Passan says that Estévez is signing with the Kansas City Royals. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Estévez is signing a two-year deal that includes a club option for 2027. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com hears that it's a two-year/$20 million deal that includes a $13 million club option for 2027 that comes with a $2 million buyout if not exercised. 

The Phillies acquired Estévez from the Los Angeles Angels just prior to the trade deadline, hoping he would be the missing piece in the bullpen that allowed them to get over the hump and win the World Series. Ultimately, he delivered disappointing results. 

While the 2.57 ERA he had over 20 games with the Phillies is solid, the 3.83 FIP over those appearances — along with allowing multiple hits in three of his last six regular-season appearances — suggested results were about to get worse. 

And that's exactly what happened against the New York Mets in the NLDS. He allowed Jose Iglesias to drive in inherited runners that meant the Mets didn't need to use Edwin Díaz in Game 3 of the NLDS. And in Game 4, he inherited a messy situation from Jeff Hoffman and allowed Francisco Lindor to put a nail in the coffin of the Phillies with a grand slam. 

FRANCISCO LINDOR. GRAND SLAM. #NLDS pic.twitter.com/CdKuEVOfT3

— MLB (@MLB) October 9, 2024

After the Phillies were upset by the Mets in four games in the NLDS, Estévez was asked about whether he hoped to be back in 2025. 

“I mean, hopefully. It would be great,” Estévez said. “But let’s see, you know how it is.”

Having been there when Estévez gave that quote, you got the distinct impression that he knew it was probably unlikely he would return to the Phillies in 2025. 

President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski cast doubt on whether both Estévez and Hoffman would return to the Phillies in 2025 during his end-of-season press conference with each headed to free agency. As it turned out, neither will, with Hoffman leaving to sign a three-year/$33 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays earlier this month. 

The Phillies have signed one reliever to an MLB deal this offseason, inking former Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano to a one-year/$8.5 million pact. They'll hope for a bounce-back from the former All-Star after what was an injury-riddled 2024. 

Beyond that, the Phillies are banking on a rebound season from José Alvarado, another step forward from Orion Kerkering and continued excellence from Strahm. Oh, and maybe Ranger Suárez could wind up being a factor out of the bullpen down the stretch if the Phillies end up with as dominant of a starting pitching staff as expected. 

There's been a lot of discontent from fans this offseason about the lack of major moves from the Phillies outside of adding Jesús Luzardo to the already-strong rotation. One thing is clear, though, with Hoffman and Estévez now gone — the Phillies are not running it back in the bullpen after a meltdown in the NLDS. 

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