Jhoan Duran is a Phildelphia Phillie now. The former Twins closer, who comes with one of the most electrifying entrance sequences in baseball, got his first moment to soak it all in at Citizen’s Bank Park on Friday night.
With the Phillies leading 5-4 after a late rally, Duran emerged from the home bullpen for his first save opportunity with his new team. And the production crew at the ballpark had the same graphics, lights, and music that the Twins used for Duran appearances at Target Field over the last four years (which presumably means the Twins sent those over as a courtesy).
Duran’s entrance has always been incredible. But it’s even more of a sight to behold when it happens in front of a sellout crowd, which was the case on Friday.
Jhoan Duran kept his entrance from when he was with the Twins and introduced it to the Bank. pic.twitter.com/LU1NvVHgyk
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 2, 2025
Duran proceeded to nail down the save on just four pitches, all of which were “splinkers” at 98-100 miles per hour. He’s now the closer on a first-place team with World Series aspirations, and under Phillies control for two more seasons after this one.
On Wednesday, the Twins traded Duran to the Phillies for 23-year-old RHP Mick Abel and 18-year-old catcher Eduardo Tait, a pair of top-100 prospects. It’s possible they’ll have bright futures in Minnesota. But for now, it has to hurt for Twins fans to see their star closer and his goosebump-inducing entrance receive the spotlight in a bigger market.
After dealing Chris Paddack on Monday and Duran on Wednesday, the Twins traded eight more players on Thursday in a stunning fire sale. Several other members of that group made their season debuts for their new teams on Friday, including Carlos Correa, who was 0 for 4 with a couple long flyouts (while playing third base) in his first game back with the Astros. Ty France went 0 for 4 in his Blue Jays debut, while Harrison Bader walked and scored a run off the bench for the Phillies in their win.
