Phillies land Duran from Twins for 2 top prospects

The Philadelphia Phillies are adding some big-time heat to the back of their bullpen.

Philadelphia acquired closer Jhoan Duran from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Mick Abel and catching prospect Eduardo Tait, the teams announced Wednesday.

Abel is ranked as the No. 92 overall prospect on MLB.com's top 100, while Tait sits at No. 56.

Duran has been one of the top closers in baseball since debuting in 2022. The 27-year-old has saved 74 games in 83 chances for the Twins while recording a 2.47 ERA during his career.

The Dominican's most famous weapon is a devastating four-seam fastball that averages 100.2 mph. He pairs that pitch with a hard "splinker" - a splitter-sinker hybrid that averages 97.5 mph and generates a 26.5 whiff percentage - along with the occasional sweeper and knuckle-curve.

Duran should become a staple in the ninth inning for Philadelphia, as he's got another two years of arbitration eligibility remaining. He's earning $4.125 million this year.

The Phillies, who are in a dogfight with the New York Mets for NL East supremacy, desperately needed a top-tier closer to anchor their bullpen. Former All-Star Jordan Romano was supposed to fill that role but has struggled to a 6.81 ERA over 42 outings. No Phillies reliever has more than eight saves this year.

Duran's addition also counters the Mets' bullpen moves made earlier Wednesday. New York acquired sidearming right-hander Tyler Rogers from the San Francisco Giants for three players and then reportedly swung another blockbuster trade with the St. Louis Cardinals for relief ace Ryan Helsley.

President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said that Duran will likely be the Phillies' final reliever added before the deadline, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic. He's now turning his attention to adding some extra outfield help.

Abel, 23, was the Phillies' first-round pick in 2020 and made his big-league debut earlier this year. The Oregon native put up a 2.31 ERA with 81 strikeouts over 13 starts in Triple-A this season, but he's struggled to a 5.04 ERA over 25 innings in the majors. Abel's arsenal includes a hard fastball and a curveball with plenty of movement.

Tait, 18, was signed by the Phillies out of Panama in 2023. The organization recently promoted him from Low-A Clearwater to High-A Jersey Shore. Tait owns a .255/.319/.434 slash line with 11 homers and 57 RBIs across 82 combined games between the two levels.

The Twins are assigning Abel to Triple-A St. Paul and Tait to High-A Cedar Rapids, according to Dan Hayes of The Athletic.

With Duran traded, Minnesota appears less inclined to deal another of its sought-after relievers in Griffin Jax, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.