Angels' Carlos Estevez Made Big Change After Struggling to Finish 2023 Season

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Carlos Estévez has been strategic with his training this offseason. After an outstanding start to his season in 2023, Estévez struggled, particularly with endurance during the final two months.

The 31-year-old opened up on what he's been doing to last better through the ninth inning of games.

“I started a little bit earlier and I started doing more interval exercises, explosive with less rest, just to get used to the intensity of the ninth inning. At the beginning, I was beat up. But I got used to it and I feel really good about it. Hopefully, it’s going to pay off. It will pay off. That’s the way I see it.”

— Carlos Estévez, via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.

From the beginning of the 2023 season through July, Estévez was tremendous with a 1.80 ERA, earning his first All-Star appearance. However, he was unable to keep it up, especially when he had to pitch in the final innings.

Though Estévez has been in the league for a while now, he explained that he still has to make career adjustments.

“People think that once you’re a big leaguer, you’ve got everything figured out, but you’ve still got to make adjustments. That’s why you’re in the big leagues, because you can make adjustments the fastest. That’s what I believe.”

— Estévez, via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.

Estévez will get to see if his new training paid off when the regular season begins later this month. For now, Estévez has only pitched 1 inning through the Cactus League so far. He's given up two hits and one earned run.