It seems like Jhoan Duran and the Phillies have dodged a major bullet after the closer had to be carted off the field during Friday’s game. Duran was on the right ankle by a Paul DeJong comebacker in the ninth inning of yesterday’s 6-2 win over the Nationals, leaving the reliever in some obvious discomfort as he briefly tried to walk off the pain. The cart was summoned as a precautionary measure, and Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote last night that Duran was able to freely walk through the clubhouse en route to the trainer’s room.
The Phillies revealed that Duran’s x-rays were negative, and the closer himself delivered another positive update to Lauber today, saying he felt “100 percent.” Lauber noted that Duran wasn’t even walking with a limp. It doesn’t seem like an IL stint will be required, and the right-hander may not need more than a day or two (if that) before he’s able to get back onto the mound.
Acquired from the Twins at the trade deadline, Duran came at a high price, as the Phillies had to give up big league-ready starter Mick Abel and top catching prospect Eduardo Tait. The Phils felt the cost was worth it to land a controllable (though 2027) closer, and the early returns have been stellar — Duran is a perfect 4-for-4 in save chances since joining the Phillies, and he has allowed only two hits over four scoreless innings of work. For the 2025 season as a whole, Duran has a 1.86 ERA, 25.5% strikeout rate, and 8.2% walk rate across 53 1/3 combined innings with Minnesota and Philadelphia.
If Duran has indeed avoided the injury bug, it sets the stage for (knock on wood) a healthy weekend for the Phillies as two prominent players are set to be activated from the injured list on Sunday. Manager Rob Thomson said earlier this week that Aaron Nola would be return from the 60-day IL to start Sunday’s game, and the skipper told The Athletic’s Charlotte Varnes and other reporters today that Alec Bohm would also be activated from the 10-day IL to face Washington tomorrow.
Bohm has missed four weeks dealing with a fractured left rib. The injury was suffered a week prior to Bohm’s IL placement when he was hit by a pitch, and after using the All-Star break to try and heal up, Bohm reaggravated his rib problem in the first game of the second half. He started a Triple-A rehab assignment last Sunday, and served as both a third baseman and DH over five games with Lehigh Valley.
Bohm has a 98 wRC+ and a…
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