This story was excerpted from Anne Rogers’ Royals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
CHICAGO -- The day the Royals knew they had a special reliever occupying the back end of their bullpen came on a day he pitched twice.
Just a few hours after Carlos Estévez recorded a blown save in the Royals’ Game 1 loss against the Cardinals on June 5 at Busch Stadium -- a walk-off single from Willson Contreras in the bottom of the 10th inning -- Estévez was running in from the ‘pen in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 2. He shut down the same part of the order he faced in Game 1, but this time, it didn’t get to Contreras.
Estévez notched his 18th save of the season instead.
“Oh yeah, I remember that day. The whole time that [Game 2] was playing out, I was just like, ‘Get me into this game,’” Estévez said. “I was praying. I couldn’t wait. And it was funny because it was the same guys, and a 1-2-3 inning. I was like, ‘There we go. I can put this day behind me.’
“I remember that [pitching coach] Brian Sweeney didn’t even come talk to me in between games, no one was talking to me. I was really mad about that first game. But then when we went out to the bullpen for Game 2, I told them I was good to go.”
Estévez might have put the day behind him, but his teammates have not forgotten about it, in part because of how quickly he moved on from the first outing that lost a game to help earn a split of the doubleheader later that night. When the Royals' closer surpassed his career high in saves last week, that day was brought up several times to describe the impact Estévez has had in his first year in Kansas City.
“That was a catalyst for me, I think,” said Daniel Lynch IV, who is still learning the transition from starting to relieving. “It helped me to see, like, ‘Dude, you got to want to have the next one.' Especially after a rough one. That’s how you get better. You can’t be living in fear.”
With a 2.62 ERA this season, Estévez is up to 35 saves now, tied for most in the Majors with Padres righty Robert Suarez. It’s four more saves than Estévez had in 2023 with the Angels, and he still has a month left of the season. The 32-year-old All-Star is not perfect, with six blown saves, but he has an 85.4% save percentage and has saved 35 of Kansas City’s 69 wins (50.7%).
Estévez is attempting to become the third pitcher in Royals history to lead the American League in saves, and he would join Dan Quisenberry (1980, 1982-85) and Jeff Montgomery (1993).
While Estévez doesn’t blow his stuff by hitters, he does throw strikes and knows how to keep hitters off balance. More than anything, his impact has come in his availability, his ability to move quickly past the bad -- and, because of the nature of his role and when he’s pitching, game-altering -- outings, and his presence out in the bullpen and in the clubhouse. There are certain personalities that just make a roster click, and Estévez is one of them for the Royals this year.
Plus, he’s taken young relievers like Angel Zerpa and Steven Cruz under his wing. Lynch has learned more about life as a reliever from Estévez. Lucas Erceg has taken notes on durability and availability.
“He’s been great for me as I learn to pitch in the important situations, how to handle the bad outings and get ready for the next one,” Zerpa said.
As the Royals push for a playoff spot, they’re going to need all of their relievers -- and have been leaning on them a lot already -- Erceg and Estévez high on that list as their two highest-leverage arms for late, close games.
Estévez is hoping that number of saves just keeps going up. That means the Royals are winning games.
“I want to get as many as I can,” he said. “Numbers mean a lot in baseball, but I’m not chasing certain numbers. At the same time, I’m just glad and happy that I have gotten the opportunity to do it.”