The Philadelphia Phillies moved two top pitching prospects to acquire then-Los Angeles Angels closer Carlos Estévez at the 2024 MLB trade deadline.
Estévez was good in a Phillies uniform, but he was added as a rental. Now the star closer is a free agent and Spotrac projects him to land a three-year, $42 million contract.
FanSided's Nick Villano recently predicted that Estévez wouldn't re-sign with Philadelphia. Villano predicted that the star closer would head to the Arizona Diamondbacks as they look to climb back to the top of the loaded National League West.
"The Arizona Diamondbacks want to get back to the World Series after a pretty disappointing 2024," Villano wrote. "They have some big issues, including a returning Jordan Montgomery, but adding a supreme relief pitcher would solve some of their woes."
Each and every contending team will be in the market to add relievers this winter and into the regular season. The top names on the market such as Estévez and Tanner Scott are headed for big paydays.
I would be surprised to see the Phillies not make a serious attempt at re-signing Estévez. They moved two very talented pitching prospects to acquire him last season, so for him to walk out the door this winter would be a huge disaster for the organization.
Still, the Diamondbacks are a perfect fit and they're expected to be quite aggressive in free agency as well. Estévez will likely be paid a bit higher than his market value indicates. It's just going to be about which team is willing to overpay him a little bit more.
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