Angels' Carlos Estevez: Closer role not guaranteed
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Angels manager Phil Nevin said Saturday that the first opportunity to close a game this season will depend on "what the game dictates," Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Estevez appeared to be the frontrunner for closing duties early in camp, but Nevin has yet to commit to any reliever for that role. Estevez has struggled statistically this spring, though he struck out the side in a scoreless inning during his last appearance and has attributed his troubles in Cactus League play to experimenting with pitch usage. Nevin did say that Estevez "is definitely going to get some big outs late in the game most of the year," so the veteran reliever's poor numbers this spring don't seem to have shaken his manager's confidence. However, Nevin elected for a closer committee after the Angels traded Raisel Iglesias last season, thus it's not certain that he'll name a full-time closer at any point in 2023.
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Angels' Carlos Estevez: Not concerned over rough spring
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Estevez and the Angels aren't concerned over his poor numbers this spring, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.
He has walked 10 batters in 3.2 innings and has a 19.64 ERA, but the veteran righty has been experimenting with new pitches and strategies at the expense of clean innings in exhibition play. Estevez has been working more up in the zone, because the numbers say he is harder to hit up there, and he's been working on a new changeup grip while attempting to throw a harder slider. Pitching coach Matt Wise said Estevez is trending in the right direction and manager Phil Nevin said he expects Estevez to get more consistent as the start of the season nears.
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Angels' Carlos Estevez: Struggling this spring
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Estevez has pitched 1.2 innings over three appearances in Cactus League play thus far, allowing five runs on one hit and seven walks while striking out one batter.
Estevez has never been a pitcher with pinpoint control, but his wildness has been particularly off-putting this spring given general manager Perry Minasian's optimism early in camp that the right-hander could win the Angels' closer job. That scenario certainly isn't off the table, but Estevez may need to put his early struggles behind him in order to earn the team's confidence. One reason for his poor numbers thus far may be a conscious attempt, at the direction of the organization, to pitch more at the top of the zone, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Estevez has at least expressed confidence in adjusting to the changes, saying Sunday, "I think I'm going to get it. I just need to face more hitters and once I'm comfortable with it, I think I'm going to be fine." Los Angeles has other options, including Jimmy Herget and Ryan Tepera, to deploy in the ninth inning of meaningful games, so Estevez is among the shakiest options for fantasy managers to target when chasing saves in their drafts.
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Angels' Carlos Estevez: Tabbed as favorite to close by GM
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Angels general manager Perry Minasian recently expressed optimism that Estevez will earn the team's closer role this season, though he made it clear that the decision will be made by manager Phil Nevin, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.
Estevez signed a two-year contract with the Angels in December after spending the first six seasons of his career with Colorado. The right-hander has racked up 25 saves in his career, with 11 coming in his rookie campaign and another 11 in 2021. Estevez doesn't have huge strikeout numbers -- he fanned less than a batter per inning in each of his past two seasons -- but he posted career-best marks with a 3.47 ERA and 1.18 WHIP over 57 frames in 2022. Jimmy Herget was impressive as part of a closer committee for Los Angeles last season after Raisel Iglesias was traded in early August, and Ryan Tepera should also be in the mix for save chances. Given Minasian's comments, Estevez may have a leg up in the closer competition, but he's far from guaranteed to be handed that role and should be among the final closers to be selected in fantasy drafts.
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Angels' Carlos Estevez: Signs with Angels
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Estevez agreed to a free-agent deal with the Angels on Monday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
Estevez will receive $13.5 million across the next two seasons, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The hard-throwing righty logged a 3.47 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 57 innings for the Rockies in 2022. Estevez struck out less than a batter an inning and isn't a master of control, as he walked 23. Despite tallying just 13 saves between the last two seasons, he could be a top candidate to close games for Los Angeles.
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Rockies' Carlos Estevez: Shifts to 15-day injured list
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Estevez (illness) was transferred to the 15-day injured list Thursday.
Estevez landed on the COVID-19 injured list Tuesday, but he doesn't actually have coronavirus, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com. Still, the ailment has affected him to the point that the Rockies decided to shut him down for the year. He'll end the season having recorded a career-best 3.47 ERA in 57 innings.
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Rockies' Carlos Estevez: Placed on COVID list
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Estevez was placed on the COVID-19 injured list Tuesday.
Estevez has been having a solid year, posting a career-best 3.47 ERA and 1.18 WHIP over 57 innings out of the bullpen. There is no minimum or maximum time that players must spend on the COVID list, but in the meantime Ty Blach has been recalled to replace Estevez in the bullpen.
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Rockies' Carlos Estevez: Records eighth hold
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Estevez threw a scoreless inning, allowing one hit and no walks while striking out two Sunday against the Mets.
Estevez entered in the eighth inning with the Rockies up 1-0 and got Tyler Naquin to fly out to start the inning but surrendered a single to Brett Baty and allowed him to advance to second on a wild pitch. The righty worked out of the trouble by striking out the next two batters to secure his eighth hold of the campaign. He now owns a 3.66 ERA through 46.2 innings this season.
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Rockies' Carlos Estevez: Back from paternity leave
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Estevez was activated off the paternity list Saturday.
Players may spend between one and three days on the paternity list. Estevez wound up spending the minimum amount, having only just left the team Friday. Chad Smith was optioned to clear space for his return.
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Rockies' Carlos Estevez: Moves to paternity list
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Estevez was placed on the paternity list Friday, Kyle Newman of The Denver Post reports.
Estevez picked up his first save of the season with a scoreless inning Thursday against the Padres, and he'll now step away from the team in order to spend some time with his growing family. The 29-year-old should rejoin the Rockies before the start of the second half of the season next Friday.
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Rockies' Carlos Estevez: Earns first save
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Estevez didn't allow a baserunner while striking out one in a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save Thursday against the Padres.
Daniel Bard pitched in three of Colorado's last four games entering Thursday, which allowed Estevez to earn his first save of the campaign. Estevez is not likely to see many additional save chances this season -- barring Bard being traded -- as he has a 4.45 ERA and 26:15 K:BB across 30.1 frames.
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Rockies' Carlos Estevez: Hit hard, takes loss
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Estevez (1-1) allowed three earned runs on three hits with one strikeout over one-third of an inning to take the loss Friday against the Diamondbacks.
Estevez entered the game in the eighth inning with the game tied at one, but he served up two home runs in the span of four batters to take the loss. He has held opponents scoreless in seven of 10 appearances this season to go along with two holds. Estevez does have a bloated ERA with a current mark of 5.87, though that is heavily skewed by his blowup Friday.
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Rockies' Carlos Estevez: Earns one-out win
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Estevez (1-0) was credited with the win Saturday against the Dodgers after retiring the only batter he faced.
Estevez entered the game in the eighth inning to replace Alex Colome and was credited with the win after retiring Max Muncy on a flyout to center.
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Rockies' Carlos Estevez: Agrees to one-year deal
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Estevenz and the Rockies avoided arbitration Tuesday by agreeing to a one-year, $3.025 million deal, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.
Estevez matched his career high with 11 saves last season while posting a 4.38 ERA, the second-best mark of his five-year career. He may not return to the closer role he held down the stretch, however, as the Rockies recently signed veteran righty Alex Colome, who's saved 155 games in his career.
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Rockies' Carlos Estevez: Gives up walkoff homer
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Estevez (3-5) was tagged with the loss in relief Sunday against the Diamondbacks after giving up the decisive run while tossing two-thirds of an inning.
Estevez quickly retired Ketel Marte and Josh Rojas through flyouts, but he gave up the game-sealing homer to Josh VanMeter, who went deep for the sixth time this year. It was an unfortunate end of the year for Estevez, who went 11-for-17 in save chances while posting a 4.28 ERA with a 1.49 WHIP through 61 innings (63 appearances) this season.
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Rockies' Carlos Estevez: Secures save Friday
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Estevez earned the save against Arizona on Friday with a perfect inning during which he struck out two batters.
After the Rockies rallied for three runs in the top of the ninth, they turned to Estevez to close out the high-scoring affair. He did so with ease, retiring all three batters he faced, including the final two via strikeout. The save was Estevez's 11th in 17 opportunities. Since getting blown up for four runs against San Francisco on Sept. 8, the right-hander has converted six of seven save chances while posting a 2.70 ERA across 10 appearances.
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Rockies' Carlos Estevez: Locks down ninth save
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Estevez allowed two hits and struck out one in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Friday's 9-8 win over Washington.
Estevez was able to make a one-run lead stand in the ninth inning despite putting runners on the corners with two outs. The right-hander is now 7-for-8 in save chances since he took over as Colorado's primary closer in late August, although he's yielded six runs on 14 hits and four walks in 10.2 innings since Aug. 27. For the year, he has nine saves, a 4.34 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 57:20 K:BB in 56 innings.
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Rockies' Carlos Estevez: Picks up win
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Estevez (3-4) allowed one hit and one walk while striking out one over an inning of work, picking up the win in Wednesday's 3-2 extra-inning victory over Atlanta.
Estevez got the first two outs of the ninth inning before Ozzie Albies and Jorge Soler both reached base. With the winning run in scoring position and Freddie Freeman at the dish, the right-hander got the Atlanta first baseman to fly out on one pitch. Although he has now allowed a hit in six straight appearances, Estevez has gotten a ton of high leverage work for the Rockies in September.
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Rockies' Carlos Estevez: Secures save No. No 8
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Estevez allowed a hit and a walk but also struck out a batter during a scoreless ninth as he got the save over Atlanta on Tuesday.
Estevez worked around the aforementioned two runners to close out the game for his eighth save of the year. The 28-year-old has converted four of five save chances already in September and has pitched very well aside from his blowup against the Giants last week. Overall, Estevez has a 4.50 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 55:19 K:BB over 54 innings this year.
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Rockies' Carlos Estevez: Picks up save No. 6
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Estevez allowed a run on two hits in the ninth inning of Thursday's game against the Phillies, but he escaped with the save. He struck out one batter.
Estevez was close to giving the game back after the Rockies took the lead against Phillies closer Ian Kennedy the prior half inning. He ultimately pitched out of a second-and-third, one-out situation with the lead still intact. Estevez has now given up at least one run in each of his last three appearances, but with only one blown save in that span and saves in three of his last four appearances, he's been getting the job done more often than not since Daniel Bard was removed from the closer picture.
