Dombrowski on whether Phillies are done trading and why Estevez was the target originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
When Dave Dombrowski put together his list of trade deadline relief targets, the next three months outweighed the next three years.
They looked at relievers with years of club control, far away from free agency, but for the Phillies‘ president of baseball operations, it boiled down to one question.
Which available reliever gives them the best chance to win the 2024 World Series?
They arrived on Angels closer Carlos Estevez, acquired Saturday evening for 22-year-old pitching prospects George Klassen and Sam Aldegheri.
“It does play into it and we looked at some guys with control. It’s interesting in our room when we have those types of conversations,” Dombrowski said. “The reality comes down to, for me, we wanted the best guy who we felt gave us a chance to win this year. And so there might have been some guys that we could have gotten with control that we didn’t think were as good of pitchers in the postseason. And we just feel that, this time or the postseason, he’s the right guy.”
Like Jeff Hoffman, Estevez is a free agent after the season.
“We got a lot of information on him in terms of the type of bulldog approach he has out there. We got some people who told us he’ll definitely fit into the Philadelphia mentality,” Dombrowski said.
“Probably a little bit more than you’d like to give up for a rental but who knows, maybe we’ll sign him once the year’s over, you never can tell.”
Estevez has been in a major groove since the end of May, ripping off 18 straight scoreless appearances and putting just five of the last 58 batters he’s faced on base. He has a big fastball that averages 97 mph and a plus slider. He’s saved 20 games this season and 31 last, and while the Phillies have seldom used a set closer under manager Rob Thomson, Dombrowski expects Estevez to be used plenty in the ninth inning.
“To us, he’s one of the best relievers in baseball this past year,” Dombrowski said. “He’s a guy that can pitch the ninth inning. How in particular Topper uses him, we’ll see, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he gets a lot of ninth innings.
“We tried to sign him two winters ago when we signed (Matt) Strahm. We ended up losing out on him at that time, but we really like him.”
The trade deadline is Tuesday, July 30 at 6 p.m. The Phillies’ heavy lifting seems to be out of the way with Austin Hays filling their outfield vacancy and Estevez joining the back of the bullpen.
Are they done adding to the bullpen?
“We feel very comfortable where we are and we feel like now we have three people who can pitch at the back-end from the right-hand side with Estevez, (Orion) Kerkering and Hoffman,” Dombrowski said. “And then from the left-hand side we feel comfortable too with (Jose) Alvarado, Strahm and (Gregory) Soto.
“There’s a long way until Tuesday night at six o’clock but we feel really comfortable with where we are right now.”
And what about the rotation, which is currently without Ranger Suarez (lower back soreness) and Taijuan Walker (blister)?
“I think we’re comfortable where we are and I think part of that has to do with (Tyler) Phillips has thrown the ball well for us,” Dombrowski said. “Ranger, we do not feel is a significant injury. Walker made tremendous strides today (in a simulated game). It’s the best he threw by far, velocity-wise and the splitfinger.
“I think we’re at a point where we can hold the fort for the time period until those guys come back. Again, if something falls in our lap over the next couple of days, I’m not saying we would never do it, but it’s not a situation where we have to do it.”
Phillips turned in another stellar start on Saturday, a complete game shutout of the Cleveland Guardians. He allowed four hits and has walked just two batters in 25 innings with a 2.16 ERA. The Phillies have won all three of his starts.
The Phils won the game, 8-0, behind a seven-run fourth inning that included two-run homers from Bryce Harper and Brandon Marsh and a three-run shot from Kyle Schwarber. They’re 65-39 with a chance Sunday afternoon to end their streak of three consecutive series losses.