Marlins rivals lose their closer to Kansas City

It's been the story this whole off-season, but rival teams of the Miami Marlins seem to be doing a lot more than The Fish. We're still here waiting for The Fish to do something of any kind of magnitude. In more Marlins rival news, the Philadelphia Phillies just lost their closer to free agency. I'm a bit surprised that they let him ago actually. It's unclear who will step into the role now.

Miami Marlins divisional rivals in Philly now need a new closer.

So who did the Philadelphia Phillies lose in free agency exactly? Carlos Estevez is of course the player that I am talking about. Estevez had an interesting career prior to the 2024 season. He pitched for the Colorado Rockies from the 2016 to the 2022 season. During that run, he pitched to a 4.59 ERA/4.21 FIP, with 9.3 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. He showed off a great strikeout rate, but had just a bit too many walks. He also clearly didn't have an impressive ERA or FIP.

Moving on to the Los Angeles Angels for the 2023 season, Estevez pitched to a 3.90 ERA/3.94 FIP, with 11.3 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 63 games and 62.1 innings pitched. The strikeout rate was quite frankly elite, but the walk rate was actually even worse. He also accumulated 31 saves that season.

Carlos Estevez split the 2024 season between the Los Angeles Angels and the Philadelphia Phillies. During that run, he pitched to a 2.45 ERA/3.24 FIP, with 8.2 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 54 games and 55.0 innings pitched. He accumulated 26 saves for that performance. In his time with Philly, he pitched to a 2.57 ERA/3.83 FIP, with 7.7 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 18 games and 21.0 innings pitched. He accumulated 6 saves. It was that FIP that probably led Philly to decide to move on.

The Philadelphia Phillies might not actually miss Carlos Estevez, if their bullpen manages to overcome losing that ERA. I also don't see Peter Bendix being wrong for not pursuing Estevez in free agency. He signed a 2 year deal with the Kansas City Royals, with a club option.