The Philadelphia Phillies pulled off a major trade on Wednesday night ahead of MLB's deadline, sending two prospects to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for closer Jhoan Duran. He has a 6-4 record this season with 16 saves and a 2.01 ERA. He was ranked No. 4 on Sports Illustrated’s list of trade candidates ahead of Thursday.
About an hour prior to being shipped to Philly, Duran spoke about the possibility of being traded, and relayed a heartfelt message about his team and the city of Minnesota.
"That’d be hard," he said, via The Athletic's Dan Hayes. "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."
After signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization in 2014, Duran was traded to Minnesota in '18, made his MLB debut in '22, and has been in the Twin Cities every since.
While it'll seemingly be an adjustment, the 27-year-old is heading from a 51-57 Twins team to a Phillies team tied for first place in the National League East—and desperate for an everyday closer.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jhoan Duran Shared Heartfelt Message About Twins Before Trade to Phillies.
