As I've recently discussed, the dictated full-career closers may be on the way out, and it may just be a fleeting, 'what have you done for me lately' type of job. As relief has become more valuable, and the middle reliever becomes a steadier job than the full-on closer, we're seeing less career closers become relievers and more career relievers become closers.
So what do we make of Carlos Estevez, the career reliever who's been one of the best closers in baseball? I'm still trying to figure that out.
Estevez was a beloved relief option for the Rockies during the late 2010s, and stayed steady when many Colorado relievers [Ottavino, Oberg, Rusin] failed to. He previously reached 11 saves in 2021, but only as a fill-in for Daniel Bard during an injury. Once Estevez reached the end of his contract, he joined the Angels, which has been a haven for so many great relievers in the past few seasons, including Aaron Loup, Ryan Tepera and now Chris Devenski. Only problem is there really isn't a designated closer this year, so after Jose Quijada had a go at it, Carlos Estevez was next on the depth chart and was thrust into the role.
So far this season, Estevez has been the Angels second-most-crucial player WAR-wise, after the unbelievable Shohei Ohtani. Higher than Trout, which is pretty insane. All he's done is stay very hot in the ninth, with a 1.23 ERA, 12 saves and 29 strikeouts, ironically more than Tyler Anderson's notched in 8 games. Surprisingly, while he closes games, a lot of the Angels' best relievers have been former starters. Matt Moore, as he has been since leaving Philly, has been unhittable in relief, with a 1.50 ERA in 24 innings. Jaime Barria, no longer the swing starter for this team, has a 1.96 as a long reliever so far. Even if they are unconventional options, they seem to be working, especially as many of the other pieces [Tucker Davidson, Chase Silseth, Aaron Loup] struggle.
I don't know if Estevez can turn a really nice May turn into a career, or if he'll be this good of a closer in a few years. I think all the Angels want right now is for him to be a great closer in 2023, and for him to continue his May work into the rest of the season. With the Angels flirting with .500 and trying to stay ahead of Seattle, Estevez's continued dominance is an element they'd like to keep intact, and I hope he can.
Coming Tomorrow- A future Hall of Famer spending this season reuniting with his battery partner from when he was a lot younger.
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