The New York Yankees will have to address its bullpen this offseason and the team is linked to a former All-Star.
The Yankees have Clay Holmes, Tommy Kahnle, Tim Hill as pending free agents, as New York has yet to re-sign any of them.
Now, according to MLB insider Jon Morosi, the Yankees have interest in signing free agent reliever Carlos Estevez.
“Carlos Estevez is among the (many) free agent relievers in whom the Yankees have interest as the offseason begins,” Morosi reported on X.
Estevez could fill the void of Holmes who has been linked to sign with other teams in free agency. The right-hander fits as the Yankees set-up man and can help boslter the backend of the bullpen.
Estevez was an MLB All-Star in 2023 and spent the final stretch of the 2024 season with the Philadelphia Phillies. Last season, Estevez was 4-5 with a 2.45 ERA in 54 apperances including saving 26 games. In his career, Estevez is 27-31 with a 4.21 ERA in 438 games.
Holmes Lost Closer’s Job With Yankees
Holmes was the Yankees closer but lost the job in early September after giving up a grand slam to the Texas Rangers.
The right-hander led the MLB with 13 blown saves at the time of him losing the job. However, Holmes pitched well in the playoffs in a set-up role.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he knew Holmes would be a key part of its roster in the playoffs despite the struggles in the season.
“I never felt like he was far off,” Boone said, via MLB.com. “There was a stretch where he got hit hard a couple of times and lost some saves. But, he never really was erratic with his command, and the stuff was all there…
“I always felt like even though I changed the role a little bit, knew he had everything to handle it. Especially being a really good pitcher. It’s been good to see him really finish the season as strong as he did. And, obviously pitching as well as he is for us right now.”
Holmes finished the year with a 3.14 ERA in 67 appearances. In the playoffs, he had a 2.25 ERA in 12 innings.
What Estevez Brings to The Yankees?
If New York can land Estevez, he would compete for the closer’s job with Luke Weaver. But, even if he doesn’t win the job, Estevez would be a great set-up man for New York.
Estevez is known for his power as his fastball can hit 100MPH. He throws the fastball 61% of the time, while the right-hander also has a slider, a changeup, and a rarely-used curveball.
Estevez gets good swing-and-miss as batters hit just .198 against his fastball last season, while he had a whiff percentage of 23%. However, his strikeout percentage fell from 27.8% in 2023 to 23.6% last season. But, his walk percentage went from 11% to 5.7% last season as Estevez good a job with control last season.
Estevez is one of the top relievers available and will be in line to get a multi-year deal. MLBTradeRumors predicts he’ll sign a three-year $27 million deal in free agency.
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Yankees Linked to Signing All-Star Reliever to Potentially Replace Ex-Closer