Carlos Estévez, who put up a 2.45 ERA as the closer of the Los Angeles Angels and Philadelphia Phillies in 2024, is one of the top names still yet to be signed on the relief pitching market. And the Red Sox, who don’t necessarily need a closer, but could use someone with closing experience, have yet to sign an impact right-handed reliever this winter.
Boston is involved in Estévez’s market, according to one Major League Baseball insider. It just doesn’t sound like they’re itching to ink him to a lucrative contract.
MassLive’s Chris Cotillo recently reported via social media that the Red Sox had been in contact with Estévez, but as of Wednesday, there was nothing imminent that might suggest a deal was coming.
“Red Sox have ‘checked in but not serious’ as of this morning,” Cotillo wrote on X Wednesday evening.
In fairness, Estévez might not be one of the Red Sox’s top targets at this juncture. They don’t necessarily need a closer, and for as good as he was last season, he struck out just 50 batters in 55 innings.
Maybe, for instance, they prefer someone like David Robertson, who struck out 99 batters in 72 innings. Swing-and-miss stuff has been a huge priority of Craig Breslow and the Red Sox’s front office this winter.
However, when a fan base constantly gets told that its team is “interested” in free agents, whether that interest is strong or mild, it starts to get annoying after a while. And the Red Sox won’t be getting the benefit of the doubt until a big-name signing actually happens.