While no one was surprised to see Chris Paddack go yesterday, Jhoan Duran being traded might come as more of a shock. Officially, Duran is heading to the Phillies in exchange for pitcher Mick Abel and catcher Eduardo Tait.
There’s been a consensus around the league that the Twins would strongly consider trading one of Duran or Griffin Jax as they have fallen out of the playoff picture, but it wouldn’t be cheap to do so. The Philadelphia Phillies decided Duran was worth the Twins’ high asking price.
Abel would probably be considered the headliner for the Twins and he should see action with the MLB squad immediately. The Phillies have a loaded and healthy rotation so Big League chances have been thin, but Abel has carved up AAA hitters this season to the tune of a 2.31 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 74 innings pitched. He relies on primarily on a fastball/curveball pitch mix, while mixing in a good amount of sliders and sinkers. He’ll need to limit walks to reach his potential, but he should get plenty of time with Pete Maki to sort those issues out.
Tait is a 19-year-old catcher in High A who should have a chance to stick behind the dish. He has big pop and a strong arm, and the Twins apparently have very high grades on him internally. Tait is still probably 2-3 years away from being MLB ready, by which point the questionable defensive grade on him might not matter thanks to the ABS system. You can read MLB Pipeline’s report on him below:
A left-handed-hitting backstop, Tait has already displayed some impressive hitting traits. He finds the barrel consistently and makes a lot of hard contact. He’s capable of driving the ball to all fields and can hit the ball out everywhere, showing good power for such a young age. Like many young hitters with pop, he can get a little pull happy at times but should be able to learn to trust his natural strength and bat speed as he progresses.
While Tait’s overall defensive game is a work in progress, the Phillies think he’s headed in the right direction after showing a lot of improvement behind the dish last year. They think he sets up well and his receiving has gotten better to the point where they think he could be an average defender in the future, pairing nicely with his plus arm. If that keeps trending in that direction, Tait should have no problem being a big league regular catcher in the future.
The Phillies, meanwhile, get one of the best closers in the game in Duran. Twins fans will surely miss his electric entrances, but with the emergence of Louie Varland and Brock Stewart, Minnesota still has plenty of late-game arms in the bullpen.
Eyes now turn toward the rest of the Twins’ trade candidates. Harrison Bader, Willi Castro, and Danny Coulombe seem like locks to head to a contender as pending free agents, while Christian Vazquez and Ty France could be as well if someone wants them (which is not a given). There are more questions about others like Stewart, Trevor Larnach, or even Carlos Correa as the Twins pivot into 2026 evaluation mode.
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