Former Twins Jhoan Duran, Harrison Bader have soared since trade to NL East champion Phillies

PHILADELPHIA – The trade rumors surrounding Jhoan Duran were rampant at the end of July, and he was bracing for the possibility during his final days with the Twins.

It still hit him hard.

Duran was playing in the backyard with one of his sons when he received a call from a member of the Twins front office. As soon as he looked at his phone screen, his heart sank.

“I was shocked a little bit,” Duran said in the Philadelphia Phillies dugout Friday. “It’s not like a big surprise to me because I knew maybe something would happen, but I didn’t want to accept the idea that something would happen.

“I wanted to be on the team. They gave me the opportunity to be in the major leagues for the first time, and I wanted to be there for a long time.”

It wasn’t the first time Duran was traded. The Twins acquired him from Arizona for Eduardo Escobar at the 2018 trade deadline. But this time felt different because of all the connections he built.

Before Friday’s game, his first against the Twins, he hugged assistant pitching coach Luis Ramirez, bullpen catchers Anderson De La Rosa and Frank Nigro, and many of his former teammates.

Duran and outfielder Harrison Bader, who was traded to the Phillies two days after Duran, have been the prizes of the trade deadline. Duran pitched a scoreless ninth in Friday night’s 3-1 victory, giving him 16 saves with Philadelphia, equal to what he racked up in four months with the Twins. He even has his same lights-out videoboard entrance after Dustin Morse, the Twins vice president of communications, gave the directions to Phillies staffers.

Bader, who is the everyday center fielder for Philadelphia, went 1-for-4 Friday and is hitting .312 with five homers, 11 doubles, 16 RBI and 29 runs in 48 games with his new team.

“I’m just really grateful that the Twins dealt me to a contender,” said Bader, who is a free agent at the end of the season and expected to be traded after Duran was dealt. “I don’t want to speak for Duran, but I’m sure he feels the same way.

“There are a lot of things that happen in the game that are out of your control. When things do work out well and I think a team does right by you and allows you to continue your season playing meaningful baseball, I’m very, very grateful for it.”

It’s still puzzling to players that the Twins weren’t more successful this year. They traded away 10 players that contenders saw fit for their playoff runs.

Watching trade deadline day unfold from afar was a unique experience for Duran, who was constantly checking Instagram and Twitter for updates when the Twins traded eight players on July 31.

“The last hour was crazy; everybody traded,” he said.

Duran admitted he was nervous when he first joined the Phillies, surrounded by unfamiliar teammates and coaches. Then in his first game, the announced 43,241 fans at Citizens Bank Park rocked out to his electric entrance video.

“When I came into the game, that’s when I started shaking a little bit. My heart went too fast,” said Duran, who is 1-2 with a 2.17 ERA and three blown saves in 23 appearances with Philadelphia. “It feels like the playoffs every day, you know. It’s incredible. Every day here, a lot of fans come through here. I feel like when I played for Minnesota in the ‘23 playoffs. That’s what I feel when I pitch over here every day.”

After Duran and Bader helped the Phillies secure a National League East division title, teammates have already warned them about the typical playoff atmosphere there.