The Philadelphia Phillies remained buyers at the 2025 MLB trade deadline as they were active to round out their roster for the final stretch of the season. With one of the more memorable trade deadlines in recent years across the league, the Phillies made a few moves of their own to build on their World Series aspirations.
The Phillies made two very notable trades. The first one was on Wednesday when they acquired closer Jhoan Duran from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for starter Mick Abel and catching prospect Eduardo Tait, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. The other notable move was adding Duran's teammate and outfielder Harrison Bader in exchange for outfield prospect Hendry Mendez and pitcher Geremy Villoria, per Zolecki.
The Phillies also made two smaller deals for starter Matt Manning and outfielder Brewer Hicklen, both from the Detroit Tigers.
Phillies grab elite closer, address outfield at 2025 trade deadline
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski had pressure on him this trade deadline. His previous deadlines were underwhelming at best, so this one had to be a splash.
Not only did Dombrowski make a splash by trading for the 27-year-old Duran to be the Phillies long-term closer, but he also addressed the other major need on the roster which is the outfield. Duran is currently pitching to a 6-4 record, with a 2.01 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 53 strikeouts and 16 saves on the season.
ICYMI: Phillies Trade Grade: Jhoan Duran deal a gigantic win for a needy bullpen
Bader may not be the Steven Kwan-type that Phillies fans were hoping for. He has a .258 batting average with 12 home runs and 38 RBIs, but he's an above-average defensive outfielder with more pop in his bat than Max Kepler has provided for the Phillies this year. There were some limitations on the Phillies' side due to the fact they didn't want to part ways with their big three prospects: Justin Crawford, Aidan Miller and Andrew Painter.
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Phillies' 2025 trade deadline grade: B+
Whether they were the biggest deals they could get this year, Dombrowski did what he had to in a more efficient approach this season. The Phillies finally get to name an everyday closer, and they get some reinforcement for the outfield.
We give the Phillies an overall grade of B+ for their 2025 trade deadline performance. They could have reached above that if they went all-in for another top-line outfielder instead, but it's still a successful trade deadline for the front office veteran Dombrowski.