He went out and got the most electric arm on the market.
The Phillies acquired fireballer Jhoan Duran from the Twins in a blockbuster deal, shipping top prospects Mick Abel and Eduardo Tait to Minnesota in exchange for one of the most dominant relievers in baseball.
Duran, 27, brings a 2.01 ERA, 16 saves, and a fastball that regularly touches 101 mph. He’s struck out 53 over 49⅓ innings and becomes an immediate late-inning weapon in a Phillies bullpen that has become more roulette wheel than shutdown unit since the loss of José Alvarado.
And it’s no rental. Duran is under team control through 2027, giving the Phillies not just a closer for October, but potentially for the next three Octobers.
“We got a really good guy and someone we have control over,” Dombrowski told reporters in the Phillies' clubhouse at Rate Field in Chicago. “I think that makes a really big difference. I think we’re deeper in prospects and that helps. Even though we traded two really good prospects we have four more that are in the top 100 prospects in baseball, we just drafted a guy No. 1 that I think probably fits into that category. That’s the difference. The control aspect, that’s huge. And I think we have a chance to win.
"I felt that in the past, too, we just haven’t given it up. A lot of times you can’t get a guy like this, either, with the control. It's a situation where they (Minnesota) probably felt that, you know what, if we’re going to maximize value, this is the time to do it.”
"I felt that in the past, too, we just haven’t given it up. A lot of times you can’t get a guy like this, either, with the control. It's a situation where they (Minnesota) probably felt that, you know what, if we’re going to maximize value, this is the time to do it.”
The Phillies now boast a bullpen featuring Duran, Jordan Romano, Matt Strahm, and Orion Kerkering. And with Alvarado serving an 80-game suspension for a positive testosterone test, Duran likely takes over primary closing duties — although manager Rob Thomson, as always, will mix and match.
Still, this is the kind of arm that tilts postseason series.
This is also the kind of arm that costs you.
The Phillies parted with Mick Abel, the 2020 first-rounder who finally cracked the majors in May and posted a 5.04 ERA over six starts, flashing potential in multiple outings. He’s also dominated Triple-A this year, going 7-2 with a 2.31 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 74 innings.
Then there’s Tait, just 18 years old but already drawing comparisons to some of the game’s most exciting young catching talent. He’s slashing .255/.319/.434 with 11 home runs and 22 doubles across Class A and High-A. A left-handed hitter with advanced feel for the game, Tait entered the year as a top-100 prospect.
That’s a steep price. But the Phillies are chasing something bigger.
They’re locked in a back-and-forth battle with the Mets for the NL East crown — a division they won last year before getting knocked out by those same Mets in the Division Series. And they’re doing it with a bullpen that has no pitcher with more than eight saves this season and eight different pitchers with at least one.
Duran changes that calculus.
Now, with one of baseball’s nastiest arms closing games and a division title hanging in the balance, the Phillies have made their play.
They didn’t wait for the deadline buzzer. They acted early — and loudly.
Because October is coming.
And now, so is Jhoan Duran.
Is Dombrowski done? Are the Phillies content with the construction of the roster for the stretch run?
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