Minneapolis – There was an eerie feeling hanging over the Minnesota Twins’ clubhouse after Wednesday’s game. The players all knew this would be the last time they’d all be together, and that at least one player would not be joining them on the flight to Cleveland.
That player ended up being Minnesota’s flamethrowing closer, Jhoan Duran, whom it dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies for starting pitcher Mick Abel and catcher Eduardo Tait. The possibility was always there for Duran to be traded. The rumors didn’t blindside him, but he shared in his last scrum with reporters postgame how fond he is of the Twins organization and his teammates.
“That’d be hard,” Duran said, speculating on a potential trade before it was finalized. “I got a couple years here and I feel like here is my family, so if that happens, that’s maybe breaking my heart a little bit.”
Duran was one of the hottest names on the trade market throughout the day, with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reporting that the Twins would deal him by the end of Wednesday. The Los Angeles Dodgers were reported as front-runners at the time, but the Twins prioritized catching depth that the Dodgers were unwilling to part with, including rookie catcher Dalton Rushing.
So Minnesota pivoted to the Phillies. The Twins reportedly wanted Philadelphia’s top prospect, RHP Andrew Painter, in return for Duran. The Phillies weren’t willing to budge on Painter, but they made a compromise. They offered Tait, their top catching prospect, who ranks 56 overall on MLB.com’s top 100 prospect list.
The Twins added Abel, a major-league-ready starter they desperately need because they only have four healthy starters in the rotation right now. Abel is just barely on MLB.com’s top 100 list, sitting at 92.
No organization has traded a top 100 prospect since the Milwaukee Brewers dealt Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles for LHP DL Hall and infielder Joey Ortiz. Still, only Ortiz was ranked on MLB.com’s top 100 list at the time, at 63.
By those standards, the Duran trade has been the biggest move in prospect capital in a year and a half.
So what exactly are the Twins getting in Tait and Abel?
Tait is the sixth-best catching prospect in baseball by MLB.com’s rankings. He’s an 18-year-old from Panama who the Phillies signed as an international free agent in January 2023. He’s raked at the plate throughout the lower levels of the minors but saw some regression at Low-A this season, posting a career-low .251/.322/.436 slash line with 11 home runs and 51 RBI in 75 games.
Despite some regression, Philadelphia promoted him to High-A last week. Tait was off to a hot start with the Jersey Shore BlueClaws, hitting .296 with six RBI in seven games. Tait doesn’t swing and miss often, with only 65 strikeouts in 318 at-bats. He’ll join a Cedar Rapids team already bound for the Midwest League playoffs. If all plays out, the Twins can add him to their late-season plans for 2027.
Abel could be joining Minnesota’s clubhouse as early as this upcoming road trip. He’s made six starts with the Phillies this year, pitching a total of 25 innings, posting a 5.05 ERA, striking out 21 batters, and walking nine. Abel has posted a 2.31 ERA in 74 Triple-A innings this year, walking 32 and striking out 81 batters.
Abel has maintained a good bill of health in his five seasons in professional baseball, pitching in at least 14 starts per season since his professional debut in 2021. The same could not be said for Painter. He was diagnosed with a proximal ulnar collateral ligament in spring training in 2023 and didn’t pitch in live games for months. He ended up getting Tommy John surgery in late July that year, causing him to miss most of the 2024 season.
With the Twins landing Abel instead of Painter, they at least have the more durable arm between the two. They hope to turn Abel into a strong middle-of-the-rotation guy who can help anchor stability as the season unwinds.
Duran’s departure will be a tough one for Twins fans. He’s been one of the most exciting arms they’ve ever had, topping out the fastest pitch in franchise history at 104.8 MPH. He also recorded the final outs that ended Minnesota’s postseason losing streak at 18 when they eliminated the Blue Jays in October 2023.
Twins fans will never forget Duran. However, with two years of team control remaining after the 2025 season, they must capitalize on the players they will need beyond this year. The trade should work out well for Duran in the long run. As much as he’ll be missed, he will be one player fans will be rooting for endlessly this postseason.
