Dave Dombrowski finally did it.
Just ahead of Major League Baseball’s trade deadline day, the Philadelphia Phillies’ president of baseball operations made a big splash by landing one of the top closers on the market — Jhoan Duran from the Minnesota Twins for Mick Abel and Eduardo Tait.
The move by the Phillies is a big one with the team in a ‘win now’ stage with Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Zack Wheeler, J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber towards the end of their primes or on expiring contracts.
Here’s how we’re grading the Jhoan Duran trade from the Twins to the Phillies:
Jhoan Duran trade details
Phillies receive: RHP Johan Duran
Twins receive: RHP Mick Abel, C Eduardo Tait
The Phillies acquired star right-handed closer Johan Duran from the Twins for prospects Mick Abel and Eduardo Tait.
Jhoan Duran trade grades
Phillies: A
Going into this week, it was no secret that the Phillies needed to bolster their bullpen in a big way. Their big offseason bullpen move of signing Jordan Romano (one year, $8.5 million) hasn’t worked out and star left-handed reliever Jose Alvarado is currently serving an 80-game suspension after testing positive for PEDs. Alvarado is not eligible for the postseason.
When the reliever market began to heat up on Wednesday, reports began to surface that the Phillies would likely need to give up their No. 1 prospect (Andrew Painter) in addition to other top prospects in a package for a high-end reliever like Duran. The odds of Dombrowski landing a reliever seemingly started to dwindle. He confirmed to reporters in Chicago after the Phillies’ loss to the White Sox that the team wasn’t going to trade Painter.
Dombrowski then made a big acquisition while not having to give up Painter, who is throwing in Triple-A right now and working his way back from Tommy John surgery. Got to give Dombrowski credit for this.
Landing a reliever like Duran is a big get for the Phillies, whose bullpen is ranked No. 24 in MLB with a 4.33 ERA. At 27 years old, Duran is also under team control for an additional two full seasons, which aligns with their current window with Harper, Wheeler and others. One of the top relievers on the market, Duran’s fastball is electric and averages 100.2 mph, which will certainly work late in games for manager Rob Thomson.
In four seasons with the Twins, Duran has posted a 2.47 ERA and 74 saves. That, too, will play for the Phillies, who haven’t had a surefire, lockdown closer since Jonathan Papelbon. The Phillies have their closer of the future. Not a bad way to go into Thursday’s trade deadline for Dombrowski and his staff.
‘We would not have paid this price for a rental,’ Dombrowki told reporters in Chicago after the Phillies officially announced the trade. Enough said by the future Hall of Famer.
Twins: B+
Though the Twins didn’t get a prospect of Painter’s caliber back for Duran, Minnesota still did rather well in its return for the closer.
Headlining the package for the Twins is Abel, a former first-round draft pick by the Phillies in 2015 who has pitched at the major league level this season. Called up on May 18 to fill the spot in the rotation for an injured Aaron Nola, Abel posted a 2-2 record with a 5.04 ERA across six starts and 25 innings pitched. Abel, the Phillies’ No. 6-ranked prospect, struggled over his final starts, which ultimately led to him being optioned back to Triple-A. Abel specifically struggled with his command, as he gave up nine runs and five walks in his final two outings vs. the Mets and Padres. Though he will be sent to Triple-A, he is a major league-ready arm for the Twins, should they have a need in the coming days and weeks.
Then there is Tait, who is the first Top 100 Prospect traded at the deadline since 2023 and the highest-ranked since 2022. At 18 years old and playing as high as Single-A, Tait is viewed more as a project prospect. He does possess some power and has a grade score of 60 for his arm, according to MLB Pipeline.