The Phillies and Angels have made several notable trades with one another over the last two calendar years and one more can be added, as Carlos Estevez is headed to Philadelphia via trade. The move gives the Phillies a former All-Star reliever, while the Angels get two pitching prospects with upside.

The Phillies’ Return

• RP Carlos Estevez (2.38 ERA, 32 K over 34 IP)

The Angels signed Carlos Estevez in the winter of 2022 amidst a major overhaul of the team’s pitching staff. Los Angeles looked to right the ship by adding arms to beef up their pitching staff in a free-agent class that also netted the team, Tyler Anderson.

Estevez was incredible for the Angels during the first half of last season. The 31-year-old struck out 45 over 35 frames, posted a 1.80 ERA, and opposing batters posted a .625 OPS against him. However, things went awry in the second half, as he gave up 20 earned runs over 27.1 IP.

He’s been far more reliable in 2024, as Estevez walked just five batters over 34 frames. However, Estevez beats hitters differently compared to other power relievers.

While the veteran does have a power fastball that can be pumped to the high 90s and get whiffs, Estevez has a hard slider with sharp horizontal movement that can run in and away from hitters and make it hard to pick up — even if the slider is up, which he’ll throw regularly.

Estevez was rated the sixth-best player available on our 2024 trade deadline target list.

The Angels’ Return

• SP George Klassen (1.97 ERA, 89 K over 59.1 IP (A and A+))
• SP Samuel Aldegheri (3.23 ERA, 109 K over 78 IP (A+ and AA))

The Phillies surrendered two top-30 prospects in their system per MLB.com. Neither’s a well-known name, although the pitchers the Angels received are having strong seasons.

One of them was George Klassen, a sixth-round pick out of Minnesota last July. Klassen has a big arm; the 22-year-old sat in the 96-98 MPH with his fastball per Statcast in Low-A and hit as high as 100 MPH. Not a shock, it had a good whiff rate of 26.8%. He’ll also make use of a hard, mid-80s curveball and a low-90s cutter/slider (cutter per Statcast).

The 22-year-old has the profile of being a middle-of-the-rotation arm.

The other piece headed to Anaheim is Samuel Aldegheri, an international signing out of Italy back in 2019. Aldegheri has slowly developed into an arm of intrigue, one who punched out 109 over 78 frames between High-A and Double-A this season.

Aldegheri has a wiry frame but has good stuff, including a mid-80s slider that can beat same and opposite-sided hitters, a mid-80s change with fade, and a mid-90s fastball. The stuff is there for him to be a #3 or #4 starter.

Analysis

It seemed like a given the Phillies were going to get a reliever before the Trade Deadline. Philadelphia dealt relief pitcher Seranthony Dominguez on the 26th to get Austin Hays but the Phillies had a need beforehand. The Phillies never really replaced Craig Kimbrel after he left via free agency last winter, as Philadelphia’s gone with Yunior Marte and Jose Ruiz to pair with their regular cast of relievers.

Jose Alvarado has struggled of late, as indicative of the opponent’s .901 OPS and 8.59 ERA. While Carlos Estevez isn’t another lefty, the trade does give Phillies manager Rob Thompson the luxury of using Alvarado more carefully, especially now he’s been moved out of the closer’s role in favor of Jeff Hoffman.

As for the Angels, Los Angeles didn’t get a top prospect for Estevez, nor was that going to be the case. Estevez will hit the market after 2024, after all. What the Angels did get with their return is two good arms, both of whom could be valuable starters down the line.

The Angels also build on a strong 2024 MLB Draft, one where Los Angeles added several loud, exciting college arms.