Had you been told at the beginning of the season that the Phillies would be able to plug their biggest hole with the top available closer in a seller’s market and without dealing away Andrew Painter, Justin Crawford or Aidan Miller, would you have believed it?
Dave Dombrowski, Preston Mattingly and the Phillies’ front office pulled off the splash move on Wednesday evening, solving the Phillies’ closer’s role not just for 2025 but for 2026 and 2027 as well, the duration of Duran’s contract.
The cost was right-hander Mick Abel and catching prospect Eduardo Tait, who turn 24 and 19 in August.