One of MLB’s top relievers is on the move at the trade deadline.
The Minnesota Twins have dealt closer Jhoan Duran to the Philadelphia Phillies, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Reportedly going back to Minnesota are catching prospect Eduardo Tait and pitching prospect Mick Abel, the Phillies’ No. 4 and 6 prospects on the MLB Pipeline rankings.
Duran is under team control through the 2027 season, making the trade more than just a rental. That explains the considerable return, as Tair and Abel are both considered top 100 prospects by Pipeline.
The deal comes just a day after many people erroneously believed Duran was in the process of getting traded. Eyebrows were raised when he was seen giving out hugs in the Minnesota bullpen during a game — a hallmark of players traded at the deadline — but ESPN’s Jeff Passan quickly threw cold water on the speculation.
Duran brings one of the highest-velocity arms in baseball to the Philly bullpen. At an 100.2 mph, his fastball is the second-fastest in all of MLB according to Baseball Savant, behind only Athletics closer Mason Miller (101.1 mph). Duran’s four-seamer has topped out at 104.8 mph in the past.
He did not sound like a man eager to get traded when asked about the possibility earlier Wednesday.
Jhoan Duran was asked about the possibility an hour ago: “”That’d be hard. I got a couple years here and I feel like here is my family so if that happens, that’s maybe breaking my heart a little bit.” #MNTwins
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) July 30, 2025
The Phillies entered Wednesday tied for first place in the AL East, but the bullpen loomed as a major area for improvement. Despite having thrown the fewest innings of any of MLB’s 30 teams, the Philly bullpen ranked 24th in MLB in ERA at 4.33. Eight different relievers have posted saves for the team, with Jordan Romano — one of the worst-performing relievers in baseball this year — still leading the pack at eight.
Duran removes any question of who will be finishing close games going forward.
The Twins entered this deadline with plenty of potential trade chips, though the question remained of how aggressively they would use them. Duran was the big one in the bullpen, but there’s also set-up man Griffin Jax, who is now much less likely to be dealt according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.
Starting pitcher Chris Paddack was traded to the Detroit Tigers on Monday and there are also questions about staff ace Joe Ryan, who could fetch a haul even bigger than Duran.
