The Phillies have acquired closer from the Twins in exchange for catching prospect and right-handed pitcher . Both teams have officially announced the deal. Duran was one of the biggest names on this summers trade market. He came in at no. 34 on , but he surely would have ranked higher if it seemed more likely that hed be dealt. The flamethrowing right-hander is one of the undisputed best closers in the game, with a career 2.47 ERA, 2.48 SIERA, and 74 saves in 83 chances over the past four seasons. Dating back to his rookie season in 2022, he has thrown 233 2/3 innings in 223 games, racking up 292 strikeouts (seventh-most among relievers) with an elite 63.2% groundball rate. His 9.10 Win Probability Added (WPA) ranks third in that same span, trailing only and . The 1,284 pitches hes thrown at or above 100 miles an hour (per ) are easily the most in the majors; ranks second with 819. Only 27 years old and arguably pitching better than ever hes on pace for career-highs in both the FanGraphs and Baseball Reference versions of WAR Duran remains under team control via arbitration through the 2027 campaign. The po sibility of the Shin-soo Choo Jersey Twins trading Duran began to seem more and more realistic over the past couple of days, with the 51-57 Twins looking to take advantage of a sellers market and a bevy of contending teams seeking late-inning bullpen help. It was no secret the Phillies were one such club. A few weeks ago, reported that Duran (and teammate ) would be prized targets for Philadelphia, noting that, in contrast to past deadlines, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was prioritizing controllable big leaguers and, in particular, a controllable shutdown, late-inning reliever. Since Gelbs initial report, several more sources linked the Phillies to Duran, including and the , but the most recent reporting indicated that their refusal to part with top prospect would ultimately prevent them from landing Duran, with both and suggesting as much. Evidently, the Twins softened their demands, although there is no doubt the Phillies still paid a high price to acquire their new bullpen ace. Tait is widely considered a top-100 prospect, ranked 50th by , 51st by , and 56th by . As , he is their first top-100 prospect to be traded ahead of the deadline since 2023, and the highest ranked since 2022. Whether or not the Twins achieved of landing two top-100 prospects in exchange for Duran depends on which lists youre looking at; Abel is currently no. 92 on MLB Pipelines list, but he dropped off BAs most recent post-draft rankings and fell off BPs list after 2023. For what its worth, neither Tait nor Abel was included on . Looking beyond the arbitrary top 100 cutoff, however, what matters is that the Twins received a pair of highly talented young players, of a caliber rarely seen moved in deadline deals. Tait is a bat-first catcher with big power and a strong throwing arm, but the rest of his defensive game needs significant work. Still, the bat has enough potential that he could succeed in the majors (presumably at first base or DH) even if he doesnt stick behind the plate. He lit up the competition in the Dominican Summer League and the Florida Complex League in his first two profe sional seasons, but he hasnt looked quite as powerful in Single-A and High-A this year. That said, hes only 18 years old, which is young for his level, and scouting reports matter far more than his numbers right now. notes that the Twins have very good internal grades on Tait. Abel might not have quite as much upside as he once did, but he has looked much better this year than he did in 2023 or 24. He has a 2.31 ERA and 3.56 FIP in 13 Triple-A starts, both his best numbers at any level in any year of his profe sional career. While he looked overmatched at times in his first six MLB starts for the Phillies, his mediocre overall numbers are the combination of three strong starts and three disappointing outings. Hes not there quite yet, but he showed signs that he could soon become a capable big league starting pitcher. Whether thats a mid-rotation or back-end starter is now up to the Twins, but he has good raw stuff and a deep arsenal for their development and coaching staffs to work with. Heading into play today, the Phillies ranked 24th in MLB with a 4.33 bullpen ERA and 15th with a 3.82 bullpen SIERA. Their strong starting rotation has helped to limit the bullpens workload (their bullpen ranks last in innings pitched), but still, its not hard to understand why Dombrowski was looking for a significant upgrade. Philadelphias longest tenured reliever, hard-throwing lefty , will be out until mid-August serving a PED suspension, and he wont be eligible to pitch in the playoffs. , the teams primary bullpen acquisition of the offseason, has struggled to a 6.81 ERA. No one knows what to expect from , who did not sign with a team until earlier this month. He remained one of the best relievers in baseball at age 39 in 2024, but he e sentially started his spring training last week. and have provided manager Rob Thomson with a couple of reliable back-end options, but as the Phillies battle with the Mets for the NL East crown and look to contend for a World Series, its clear to see why they identified Duran as a major difference-maker. As for the Twins, there is now no question they are in full sell mode, having dealt Duran and , whom they . This makes it seem all the more likely that they will soon trade , , and , all of whom are set to hit free agency at the end of the season. However, notes that Minnesota is now far more likely to hold on to Jax, their other controllable relief ace. echoed Feinsands statement, writing that the Twins have not ruled out trading Jax, but their asking price could now be astronomical perhaps too high for anyone to meet. was the first to report that the two sides were closing in on a trade, while was the first to report that the Twins would receive Tait and Abel in exchange for Duran. was the first to confirm the agreement. Photo in article courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images. Jake Odorizzi Jersey