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Philadelphia Phillies closer Jhoan Duran received a positive initial update after leaving Friday’s 6-2 victory over the Washington Nationals with a frightening injury.
Duran, acquired from the Minnesota Twins at the MLB trade deadline, was struck on his right foot/ankle by a 94.1 mph line drive off the bat of Nationals infielder Paul DeJong in the ninth inning. He was unable to put weight on the leg and was taken off the field on a bullpen cart.
The Phillies announced that initial X-rays on Duran’s right ankle came back negative, signaling no structural damage, Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia reported. Further evaluation is planned for Saturday.
The 27-year-old right-hander, who made his Phillies debut following four days off, entered the ninth inning in a non-save situation with a four-run lead. After attempting to field the comebacker, he limped toward the foul line before trainers and manager Rob Thomson attended to him. Thomson noted that adrenaline initially masked the pain.
“He ran like a shot to retrieve the ball, and then once he got there, I think the adrenaline wore off and the pain set in. Before the cart came out, it took a long time, and he said, ‘I feel better, I think I can walk over to the dugout.’ But there’s all these steps here, and we wanted to use the cart,” Thomson said.
With the team sitting at 70-52 and first place in the NL East after the win, Philadelphia can breathe a sigh of relief that one of their most dominant bullpen arms avoided serious injury. Should Duran miss time, Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering are the likely candidates to assume closing duties.
Since joining the Phillies, Duran has been perfect in save opportunities. In four appearances totaling four scoreless innings, he has struck out three batters, surrendered just one hit, and walked none.
He entered Friday with a 1.86 ERA for the 2025 season, having recorded 56 strikeouts over 53 1/3 innings. His fastball regularly exceeds 100 mph, complemented by a splitter in the upper-90s, making him one of the league’s most intimidating closers.
Duran’s arrival in Philadelphia was intended to solidify a bullpen that has struggled in the absence of projected closer Jordan Romano, who owns a 7.24 ERA this season. Acquired in exchange for top prospects Mick Abel and Eduardo Tait, Duran has quickly demonstrated why the Phillies were willing to make a major move.
