Phillies have finally righted a decade-long mistake with Jhoan Duran

The Philadelphia Phillies are sitting pretty as one of the National League's top contenders for the fourth season in a row. What they didn't have all those other years, however, is a lockdown closer — the pitcher who everybody in the stadium knows will shut things down with authority.

For the Phillies, that guy is the hottest acquisition of the trade deadline, fireballer Jhoan Duran. He finally gives the franchise the star closer that they've been missing for years.

With some uncompetitive Phillies teams over the past decade, there's a long list of names that perhaps even the biggest Phillies fans have forgotten had closed a game for the the team. Let's take a trip down memory lane with some of those relievers that make the Duran move feel long overdue.

It has been a decade since the Phillies have had a true lockdown closer

Duran has already become quite the spectacle after his first two successful opportunities as a Phillie, thanks to his one-of-a-kind entrance. Fans are coming to games with the hope that it'll be close late so that manager Rob Thomson calls for Duran. So much so that they booed Max Lazar when he entered to finish off their 5-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.

Since 2016, there have been exactly 50 pitchers to record a save for the Phillies pre-Duran.

Yikes. A lot of the names on that list could cause Phillies fans to wake in cold sweats thinking about the team's many failed closer experiments. They've also booed many of the pitchers on this list, including former All-Stars like Craig Kimbrel, Gregory Soto and Pat Neshek.

The front office has tried everything to find a trusted closer. There have been failed free agent signings such as Jordan Romano, Corey Knebel and Archie Bradley. Then there are trade deadline flops like Ian Kennedy and Brandon Workman and converted starters like Adam Morgan and Nick Pivetta.

You would have to look one year before 2016 to find the last true lockdown closer for the Phillies. Jonathan Papelbon was traded to the Washington Nationals for Pivetta at the 2015 trade deadline, with his 123 saves still standing as the most in Phillies history. Papelbon certainly has a rocky history with Phillies fans, though they can't deny his consistency, as he was named an All-Star twice in Philadelphia and posted a sub-3.00 ERA in all four seasons with the team.

Duran is currently 122 saves away from breaking Papelbon's record, so it's unlikely that he passes him in his two-and-a-half years with the club, unless he's re-signed after 2027. That's way down the road, but what we do know now is that the team finally has an elite closer who is already breaking team records two appearances into his Phillies career.

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