Jhoan Duran got the welcome-back treatment in Minnesota, but the moment still came with a sting.
More than a year after the Twins dealt him to Philadelphia, the former Minnesota closer returned on Aug. 13 for the Field of Dreams game in Dyersville, Iowa. The Twins were the designated home team and rolled out a pregame video tribute, while the rest of the series continues at Target Field in Minneapolis.
Before the game, Duran admitted the reunion was not quite as clean-cut as he expected.
“It’s really good, really good to be back,” Duran said, via a social media post on X, formerly Twitter, by Dan Hayes of The Athletic. “A little sad, too, because I am being on this side.
… I remember when the schedule was out, I turned to my wife and said to her, ‘I want to go to Minnesota. I can’t wait for that.’”
Duran’s path in Minnesota was a fast one. He debuted with the club in April 2022 and became the full-time closer the next season, piling up 74 saves for the organization and landing 10th on the Twins’ career list.
Philadelphia landed him at last season’s trade deadline in a deal that sent catching prospect Eduardo Tait and right-hander Mick Abel to Minnesota. Tait, 19, has homered 20 times for High-A Cedar Rapids, while Abel has posted a 3.98 ERA in four outings for the Twins, including three starts. Abel had arthroscopic elbow surgery in July and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Since arriving in Philadelphia, Duran has kept doing what he does best: shutting the door. He entered the weekend with a 1.70 ERA, 59 strikeouts in 42 1/3 innings and a 25-for-27 record in save chances.
He’s been sharp lately, too. Per MLB Stats, Duran didn’t allow a run in any of his first seven August appearances, including a scoreless inning against Minnesota on Thursday. Over that stretch, he gave up five hits and one walk while striking out six.
There’s also a chance the Phillies start leaning on him for more than the usual late-inning cleanup. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber reported that manager Don Mattingly said the team has begun getting its relievers ready for the possibility of Duran working more than three outs as the season goes on.
In Other News...
Twins Fans Have Every Right To Question The Walker Jenkins Delay
Walker Jenkins has been doing just about everything a top Twins prospect is supposed to do in Triple-A, which is why his continued stay there has naturally become a talking point. When a player with that kind of profile is hitting his way through the upper levels and still not on the major-league roster, fans are going to ask whether performance is really the issue or whether the organization is choosing patience for another reason.
The Twins have not explained the delay, and that leaves room for the obvious speculation around roster timing and service considerations. In the background is the leagues Prospect Promotion Incentive, which can reward clubs that move elite prospects into the majors and see them turn into award winners, so Jenkins situation carries more than the usual development chatter. Until Minnesota makes its thinking clearer, the wait will keep feeling meaningful, and not just to people tracking his numbers in St. Paul. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Prospect Rankings Hint At A Much Deeper Next Core
The latest update to the Twins prospect list offers another reminder that the organizations future is starting to take shape in a hurry. Vahn Lackey debuts at No. 2, Marek Houston climbs to No. 4, and the names behind them suggest the system is still producing impact talent even as several familiar prospects have already moved on to the major-league level or off the list entirely. Walker Jenkins remains the headliner at No. 1, and his arrival now feels less like a distant idea than the next step in a very real transition.
For Minnesota, the bigger picture is what these rankings say about the depth beneath the obvious top names. Emmanuel Rodriguez is still in the mix as a player whose ceiling keeps the system interesting, while the continued turnover near the top shows the Twins are no longer just waiting on one wave of talent. The question now is how many of these prospects can become part of the next core together, and how quickly that core starts to look more like the present than the future. [Read more 🡒]