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The Philadelphia Phillies are nearing a trade to land one of the most dominant relievers in the game. The Phillies are set to acquire righty Jhoan Duran from the Minnesota Twins in a deadline eve trade, reports The Athletic. The return to the Twins is minor-league catcher Eduardo Tait and starting pitcher Mick Abel, per ESPN.
Duran, 27, has a 2.01 ERA with top-of-the-line strikeout and ground ball rates this season. He is not a rental, meaning the Phillies will be able to retain him as an arbitration-eligible player in 2026 and 2027. The dominance and two years of control made Duran one of the most desirable relief pitchers on the market prior to Thursday’s trade deadline.
The Twins sent righty Chris Paddack to the AL Central rival Detroit Tigers earlier this week and they’re certain to move other rentals like outfielder Harrison Bader. The Duran trade appears to indicate they’re willing to go farther than that and move just about anyone on their roster. Righties Griffin Jax and Joe Ryan could go next. Like Duran, they’re under team control through 2027.
On the Phillies’ end, they entered play Wednesday with a 4.33 bullpen ERA, ranking 23rd in baseball. They haven’t been overpowering at all, sitting 27th in reliever strikeouts. Part of the issue has been the loss of lefty José Alvarado to a PED suspension and he’ll be back soon, though he’s ineligible for the postseason. They lost Carlos Estevez and Jeff Hoffman to free agency in the offseason and late-inning replacement Jordan Romano enters Wednesday with a 6.81 EA and 1.38 WHIP.
Duran very likely immediately becomes the Phillies’ primary closer with Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering among the setup men used by Rob Thomson. Thomson hasn’t necessarily stuck to just one closer in recent years and will play matchups at times, too. No one this season has more saves than eight (Romano) while eight different pitchers have at least one save. It’ll be interesting to see if Thomson employs Duran strictly as a ninth-inning closer.
For the Twins, Tait is an 18-year-old left-handed hitter who has played 82 games this season between Class A (75 games) and High-A (seven games). He’s hitting .255/.319/.434 with 22 doubles, 11 homers and 57 RBI. He entered this season considered a top-100 prospect.
Abel, 23, made six start for the big-league Phillies this season and pitched to a 5.04 ERA and 1.36 WHIP with 21 strikeouts in 25 innings. He showed flashes of promise with three starts of at least five innings and no more than one run allowed. In 13 Triple-A starts this season, he is 7-2 with a 2.31 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 74 innings. Depending upon how things shake out around this trade deadline, it’s possible Abel is inserted into the Twins’ rotation pretty quickly.
