Carlos Estevez Trade: Angels Land Rising Phillies Prospects George Klassen, Samuel Aldegheri

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The Angels have a farm system in need of significant upgrades. Trading one of their best remaining big league assets helped do that on Saturday, as they agreed to trade closer Carlos Estévez to the Phillies in exchange for pitchers George Klassen and Samuel Aldegheri, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Klassen (No. 5 overall prospect) and Aldegheri (No. 7) were among Philadelphia’s top pitching prospects. Both boosted their stock significantly early in the season, as Baseball America’s Geoff Pontes outlined in May. Baseball America subscribers can see full scouting reports for both players here.

Estévez, 31, saved 20 games for the Angels this season and is in the midst of another strong year in high-leverage situations, pitching to a 2.38 ERA and a miniscule 4% walk rate in 34 innings so far. He will be a free agent this winter after signing a two-year pact with Los Angeles prior to 2023.

PHILLIES RECEIVE

Carlos Estévez, RHP
Age: 31

The 31-year-old righty has 19 saves and could fit in a high-leverage role for a winning club. He isn’t missing as many bats as he did in 2023, but he’s walking fewer batters, and hitters haven’t enjoyed much success against his 96-mph heater so far. Estevez’s fly ball tendencies are a risk factor, but he’s one of the more consistent and reliable available relievers.

ANGELS RECEIVE

George Klassen, RHP
Age: 22

When the Phillies drafted Klassen in the sixth round in 2023, they were taking a chance on an oft-injured pitcher with some control issues. But the arm was special enough to take a chance. That’s proven to be a wise choice. Klassen tweaked his delivery and quickly became one of the Phillies’ best pitching prospects. He was highlighted in early July as one of the notable risers in the Phillies’ system. The No. 26 prospect in the system before the season, he climbed to No. 5 in our most recent in-season re-rank.

Klassen missed his freshman year at Minnesota because of Tommy John surgery, and he had back spasms that sidelined him after he signed in 2023. Klassen sits 96-98 mph with his fastball and has touched 100 with plenty of arm-side run. His hard slider and cutter give him two additional weapons. Klassen’s control has been better than expected after the Phillies worked at cleaning up his arm path. Coming out of college he looked like a future reliever, but that risk seems less likely now, and he immediately becomes one of the best starting pitching prospects in the Angels’ system.

Samuel Aldegheri, LHP
Age: 22

Aldegheri is one of the better pitchers to come out of Europe in years. Signed out of Verona, Italy in 2019, Aldegheri didn’t get to pitch in an official game until 2021, and he’s been a slow mover until this year, which was understandable considering his background. He opened the year ranked No. 14 in Philadelphia’s system and earned a promotion to Double-A after a strong start with High-A Jersey Shore, rising to No. 7 in the system in the process. Aldgeheri has a four-pitch mix. His velocity isn’t special (91-93 mph and touching 95-96), but he gets plenty of carry that makes his fastball play up. His low-80s slider can miss bats, and his changeup had plenty of tumble and fade. Aldegheri profiles as a back-of-the-rotation starter who could be a No. 4 if it all comes together.