The Philadelphia Phillies acquired hard-throwing closer Jhoan Duran in a trade with the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday to upgrade their bullpen.

The Phillies sent catching prospect Eduardo Tait and pitching prospect Mick Abel to the Twins in the deal.

Duran was one of the top names on the reliever market before Thursday's 6 p.m. trade deadline.

"We just thought he was the best guy out there," Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters following the Phillies' 9-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox. "We felt that this was a deal that we got a dominant closer for a tough price, two good players, but something that we think where we are makes sense."

Dombrowski said trade talks with the Twins picked up over the last few days, especially Wednesday. 

Duran, 27, has a four-pitch arsenal that includes a "splinker" — a hybrid split-finger fastball and sinker — a four-seam fastball, a curveball and a sweeper. His splinker, his primary pitch, averages 97.5 mph, according to Statcast. Duran's four-seamer averages 100.2 mph.

Through 49 games this season, Duran has a 2.01 ERA with 16 saves and a 1.18 WHIP. He's also recorded 53 strikeouts and only allowed one home run. He appeared in four playoff games in the 2023 season, when he pitched five innings, struck out six batters, recorded two saves and allowed two hits.

Duran is making $4.125 million in 2025, and he's under team control through arbitration through the 2027 season, according to Spotrac.

Dombrowski said the multiple years of control was huge for the Phillies in acquiring Duran. 

"We would not have paid this price for a rental," Dombrowski said. "So that's what really is a difference for us. So, not only next year, but two more years, two more seasons after this. So, if we were talking a pure rental, we would not have traded these players for that." 

Philadelphia's biggest priority heading into the deadline was to add another high-leverage bullpen arm, and Duran fills that role. As of Wednesday, the Phillies had a bullpen ERA of 4.31, which ranked in the bottom half of the majors.  

With Duran set to join the Phillies Friday when the team begins a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers, Dombrowski said the team won't be seeking any more bullpen help. 

Duran joins a bullpen that includes Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering and others. The Phillies also signed veteran David Robertson earlier this month. The bullpen need arose after José Alvarado was suspended for 80 games following a positive PED test. Alvarado will return in August, but he's ineligible for the postseason.

"We feel very comfortable where we are … [Duran] is a legitimate closer, so we feel he'll fit in to that role for us," Dombrowski said.

The Phillies were able to trade for Duran without dealing the team's top three prospects in Andrew Painter, Aidan Miller and Justin Crawford. Tait was ranked as Philadelphia's No. 4 prospect behind the trio. Abel was ranked as Philadelphia's No. 6 prospect. He was called up in the 2025 season and flashed that he could develop into a capable starter. 

Dombrowski said many clubs that spoke to the Phillies wanted Painter in exchange for their top reliever, but he wasn't willing to deal their top prospect. 

The Phillies could still look to make another deal before Thursday's 6 p.m. trade deadline to add another outfield bat to the lineup, and Dombrowski didn't rule it out. 

"We're not done," Dombrowski said. "I mean, we're not done talking and the deadline is not over. We'll see what ends up happening. I really don't know. They're really tough to acquire too right now, so we have to kind of see what happens tomorrow, really."