The Philadelphia Phillies for a few years now have operated without a prototypical closer on their roster. They traded for Jhoan Duran at the deadline who was the primary closer for the Minnesota Twins before coming to Philadelphia (subscription required), per Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The deal to bring him here now presses the issue for Phillies manager Rob Thomson to have him as the full-time closer.
The Phillies have tried their hand at having a different closer and for one reason or another. Thomson goes based on matchups more so than just the ninth inning to get the save. There are multiple series, especially the playoffs where Thomson has the best bullpen arms come in to relieve in the seventh or eighth to face the top of the lineup rather than the closer facing whoever comes to bat in the ninth inning.
Rob Thomson knows he has to put Jhoan Duran in the closer role and leave him there
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski left no doubt that Duran was brought to Philadelphia to be the closer, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia's Bob Cooney.
“He’s legitimate. He’s a legitimate closer,” Dombrowski, per Cooney. “We talked about it beforehand that if we got him he’d be our guy. He gets lefties and righties out. The one thing they told me if you wanted to use him another inning you could. He has also pitched multiple inning various times but I don’t think we’re getting him for that purpose.”
Perhaps Friday and Sunday nights are living proof that Duran is the closer moving forward. There's the electric walk-out, and then there are the 98 and 99 mph splitters flying out of his hand. It's also starting to look like the Phillies got the better deal out of the trade with the Twins. He's got the makings of a big-time closer, and Thomson certainly recognizes that.
“He’s had that role, and he’s been really good at it,” Thomson said after the trade, per March. “He gets both left-handed and right-handed hitters out. So now you’ve got a lot of length in that bullpen.”
With Duran in the closer role, the Phillies can finally have a traditional bullpen setup. Behind him, Orion Kerkering could take the eighth inning, followed by Matt Strahm and whatever combination is working that week. There's also the impending return of David Robertson from Triple-A and José Alvarado from his suspension in a couple of weeks.
Even the rest of the clubhouse is feeling the impact of Duran's addition.
“It’s huge,” Bryce Harper said, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. “He [Dombrowski] has faith in our ability, in this team, to win games. We’ve got a really good chance to win a World Series this year.”
You cannot move Duran off as the closer for the club. They've searched far and wide before, and this time they have their guy. He has a career 2.44 ERA, but in 2025, he has a 1.93 ERA through 51 games. He is what the Phillies need now and beyond this year to win a World Series. Teams that have high hopes of making a postseason run need closers to finish off close games. Thomson seems comfortable leaving Duran as the closer moving forward, and let's hope it sticks.