Much of the potential activity at the 2025 trade deadline centered around which path the Minnesota Twins ultimately decided to take with the likes of Harrison Bader, Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax.
In the final 36 hours leading up to Thursday’s deadline, Carlos Correa became a trade chip as well amid a potential return to the Houston Astros, and the Los Angeles Dodgers were said to have interest in Louis Varland.
But a majority of the focus lied with Duran, one of baseball’s top closers. The Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees were among the teams with varying degrees of reported interest.
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Twins are trading Duran to the Phillies in exchange for prospects Mick Abel and Eduardo Tait:
The Philadelphia Phillies are finalizing a deal to acquire closer Jhoan Duran from the Minnesota Twins for two top prospects, sources tell ESPN. The biggest move of the deadline so far is almost complete.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 30, 2025
The Twins and Phillies deal is agreed upon. Right-hander Mick Abel and catcher Eduardo Tait are going to Minnesota for closer Jhoan Duran, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 30, 2025
The Phillies trading for Duran doesn’t come as much of a surprise given their need and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski being one of the more aggressive executives in the sport.
Prior to Duran, the Phillies looked to fortify their bullpen with the signing of Daniel Robertson. The Dodgers reportedly were among the teams that attended Robertson’s throwing session before he signed a $16 million contract with the Phillies.
Duran is 6-4 with 16 saves, a 2.01 ERA, 2.49 FIP and 1.17 WHIP in 49 games. He is under team control through the 2027 season via salary arbitration.
In trading Duran, the Twins now have the option of also moving Jax or making him their closer going forward. Jax recently expressed a desire to remain with the Twins beyond the trade deadline but acknowledge that was potentially going to be unlikely.
Jhoan Duran hug
Amid rampant trade speculation, Duran inadvertently added fuel to the fire on Tuesday night when he was seen hugging his bullpen catcher during the Twins’ game. It turned out to be a harmless exchange, but Duran ultimately was traded less than 24 hours later.
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