By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
The Kansas City Royals made a move to bolster the back end of their bullpen, signing All Star closer Carlos Estévez to a two year deal.
The deal, originally reported on Thursday, was made official by the Royals on Friday. It will be worth $10.1 million the next two seasons, sources told MLB.com, and the club option is worth $13 million or a $2 million buyout if the Royals decline to pick it up.
In a corresponding 40-man roster move, the Royals designated infielder Braden Shewmake, whom they claimed off waivers from the Chicago White Sox in January, for assignment.
Estévez is coming off arguably his best season yet, posting a career-best 2.45 ERA across 54 appearances between the Angels and Phillies. The right-hander had a 2.38 ERA and 20 saves for the Angels before being sent to the Phillies ahead of the Trade Deadline as one of the premier relievers on the market.
The Royals had trade discussions centering on Estévez at the Deadline, but they instead acquired Lucas Erceg, who is under team control for five more years and posted a 2.88 ERA with Kansas City down the stretch, from the A's as their closer.
Now Kansas City will have both Erceg and Estévez at the back-end of their bullpen, with both likely to get save opportunities, the pair providing a dynamic threat in the eighth and ninth innings.
Estévez has been one of the more reliable closers in the Majors over the past couple seasons. He averaged a career-best 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings in 2023 en route to earning his first All-Star selection. And while his strikeout numbers dipped in '24, he also cut his walk rate by more than half while recording a career-best 0.91 WHIP.
The Royals felt good about their bullpen at the end of 2024, thanks in large part to Erceg bursting onto the scene and solid performances from Sam Long, Kris Bubic, Angel Zerpa and John Schreiber.
But Kansas City has been keeping an eye on the reliever market throughout the offseason, wanting to see if the club could add another weapon. The Royals are also bullish on a healthy return for Hunter Harvey, another late-inning reliever they acquired just before the Deadline last year.
Harvey only threw 5 2/3 innings for the Royals before missing the rest of the season with a back injury. But in 2022-23, the right-hander posted a 2.70 ERA over 100 innings. If he’s able to return to that form, the Royals are looking at a solid trio to help close out games.
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