Jhoan Duran is heading to Philadelphia in one of the biggest deals of the deadline so far. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
It’s officially deadline day in baseball. The trade market has been slow to heat up this season, but there were finally some major moves pulled off Wednesday with the Phillies acquiring Twins closer Jhoan Duran, the Mets trading for Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley and more. It seems we’ve moved past the quiet into the storm.
We’ll grade every major move in the hours leading up to the deadline as teams take advantage of their last chance to make significant upgrades ahead of the stretch run.
Phillies acquire: RP Jhoan Duran
Twins acquire: SP Mick Abel, C Eduardo Tait
The Philadelphia Phillies added a major piece to the back end of their bullpen, agreeing to acquire standout closer Jhoan Duran from the Minnesota Twins in a blockbuster trade on Wednesday.
The Phillies haven’t had a true closer this season, splitting the role between various late-innings relievers including Jordan Romero, Jose Alvarado and Matt Strahm, all of whom have six or more saves. Duran provides them with a stable closer and a dependable option in the ninth inning, having enjoyed a sensational 2025 season.
It wasn’t a cheap trade for Philadelphia to execute, though. The Twins were able to pry two of their top prospects away in exchange for Duran, acquiring catcher Eduardo Tait and right-handed starting pitcher Mick Abel.
Abel, 23, has already pitched in the majors this season and has shown flashes of brilliance in his first taste of the big leagues. He’s the No. 6 prospect in Philadelphia’s farm system, per MLB Pipeline, and should develop into a solid MLB starter. Though he had a 5.04 ERA in his first six starts, he was sensational in his debut, striking out nine batters while surrendering five hits and no runs against the Padres. His upside his high, and he won’t be as under as much pressure to perform right away with the Twins not contending just yet.
As for Tait, he’s the Phillies’ No. 4 prospect and while he’s still a few years from making his debut in MLB, he certainly seems promising at age 18. At Single A and A+ ball, Tait has a .753 OPS with 11 home runs and 57 RBIs across 82 games, while boasting a great arm behind the plate.
The price was steep, but Philadelphia managed to hold onto prized pitching prospect Andrew Painter. Duran is electric, with a flamethrower of an arm and a pristine 2.01 ERA with 16 saves on the year. He’s struck out 53 batters in 49 1/3 innings and has surrendered just one home run all season. He won’t hit free agency until 2028, either, so the Phillies now have themselves a closer for the present, and for the future.
Minnesota’s farm system was lacking a top right-handed pitching prospect, and they received just that in Abel, as well as a developmental piece in Tait who could potentially be an everyday catcher in the majors down the line.
Phillies grade: A-
Twins grade: B+
Mets acquire: RP Tyler Rogers, RP Ryan Helsley
Giants acquire: RP Jose Butto, OF Drew Gilbert, P Blade Tidwell
Cardinals acquire: SS Jesus Baez, P Nate Dohm, P Frank Elissalt
While this was technically two different deals, we’re going to examine them as one large move the Mets made in order to overhaul their rotation of relievers ahead of closer Edwin Diaz.
The Mets are landing plenty of talent. Rogers, a submariner, is enjoying what might be his best season in the big leagues. He’s 4-3 with a 1.80 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, and 38 strikeouts against only four walks in 50 innings. He gets people out.
Meanwhile, Helsley is the reigning NL Reliever of the Year, and while he hasn’t reached the same highs this season, he still sports a solid 3.00 ERA, alongside a 1.39 WHIP, and 41 strikeouts in 36 innings.
Both moves will undoubtedly add some much-needed firepower to the Mets bullpen, but New York had to give up a good amount of talented prospects in order to pull off the two deals, both of which are rentals with Rogers and Helsley set to become free agents after the year.
We won’t know the true value of this deal until either the Mets make a run at the World Series, or some of the prospects they parted ways with start making an impact in the big leagues. For now, it feels like a pretty solid deadline deal for all parties involved.
Mets grade: B
Giants grade: B+
Cardinals grade: B+
Mariners acquire: 3B Eugenio Suarez
Diamondbacks acquire: 1B Tyler Locklear, P Hunter Cranton, P Juan Burgos
The rise of Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh as a league-leading slugger is one of the biggest surprises of the baseball year, and one that has Seattle right in the thick of the playoff hunt.
Already with a solid starting rotation, the Mariners decided to add another bat to the lineup, bringing back third baseman Eugenio Suarez in a trade with the Diamondbacks just a little over a year after shipping him off to Arizona. He was the best bat on the market, and the fact that he’s already familiar with the Diamondbacks organization comes as a bonus.
Giving up three players for a rental is never risk-free, but the Mariners by no means raided their own farm system to pull this deal off, and with Seattle clearly down to strike while the iron and Raleigh’s bat are both hot, this was an easy move to make—the Mariners wanted another bat, and got the best one on the market.
Mariners grade: A
Diamondbacks grade: B-
