Los Angeles Angels Give Bullpen A Boost, Sign High-Leverage Reliever

He's served as a part-time closer in the past for the Colorado Rockies. Now after having his best season in the thin air of Denver, reliever Carlos Estevez has earned himself a nice contract on the free agent market.

#Angels sign Carlos Estevez to a 2-year deal for $13.5-million.

Don’t know yet if they plan for him to close, but Bud Black just said he has closer stuff and a closer mentality.
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) December 5, 2022

As noted by Angels beat writer Jeff Fletcher, it's a 2-year deal worth $13.5M for Estevez. And as his former manager Bud Black said, he has "closer stuff" with a "closer mentality." He had 25 saves during his years in Colorado.

The high-octane right-handed reliever has a fastball that averages 97.5 mph velocity that was in the 95th percentile last season. And while he has a career 4.59 ERA, that has to be taken with a grain of salt due to spending his entire career pitching half his games in the hitter-happy Coors Field. He actually has a career 3.51 ERA outside of Denver and 5.57 at home.

So Carlos Estevez will be that much closer to Hollywood. His namesake, Carlos Estevez, aka 'Charlie Sheen', played the role of the famed "Wild Thing" in the movie Major League. The Angels' Estevez did walk 3.6 batters per nine innings this past season, so perhaps the 'Wild Thing' moniker sticks in LA.

If Carlos Estevez doesn't come out to "Wild Thing" when he's closing for the Angels, what are we even doing?
— Joshua (@JoshuaHowsam) December 5, 2022