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Jhoan Duran brings his splinker and his colorful entrance.

PHILADELPHIA – He has a splinker. He has an entrance.

Phillies fans were looking forward to seeing both when the team’s new closer, Jhoan Duran, would come on to pitch for the first time after being acquired in a July 30 trade with the Twins.

The Phillies and American League Central-leading Detroit opened a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park Aug. 1 at 6:45 p.m. in which both are certainly wishing it’s a possible World Series preview.

It is the first game in a Phillies uniform, in this case the blue-and-black City Connect Friday night duds, for Duran and outfielder Harrison Bader, also acquired in a trade with the Twins this week.

Jhoan Duran speaks with the media in the Phillies' dugout Aug. 1, 2025, before his first game since being traded for Minnesota.

Bader, a right-handed hitter, was not in the starting lineup with right-hander Jack Flaherty starting for Detroit.

To make room on the 26-man roster for the two, the Phillies optioned center-fielder Johan Rojas to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and placed pitcher Daniel Robert on the 15-day injured list with a blister on his finger.

Speaking before the game, both players expressed delight in landing on a team with realistic postseason aspirations, which was not the case anymore in Minnesota.

What did Jhoan Duran say?

Duran, who has pitched only for the Twins in his big-league career, said he was “so excited right now” to join the Phillies.

“I feel great,” added Duran, who did express sadness in leaving longtime teammates. “It’s an honor to be part of this team. I see my dream coming true. I feel too many emotions coming through. I feel really, really good to be here and I feel like I have a chance to win the World Series.”

Duran is a hard-throwing 6-foot-3, 230-pound right-hander from the Dominican Republic who is 6-4 with a 2.01 ERA and 16 saves in 49 games this year.

His pitch collection includes that splinker, a combination two-seam fastball and splitter delivered in a 100-mph range that he discovered while experimenting with different grips.

The Twins also orchestrated his loud, lights-out entrance from the bullpen that includes the toll of a bell, music and images of flames – he is a flame thrower, after all – on the wall and scoreboard.

Those flames and images of spiders – he’d been given the nickname “Tarantula” in Minnesota, Duran said – were flickering across the Phillies’ outfield wall several hours before the game, indicating his entrance has come to Philly with him.

“They asked me if wanted here, too,” he said, “and I said ‘Yes, why not?’ ”

When he steps on the mound, Duran will also be wearing jersey number 59, as he did during his four seasons in Minnesota. For that he can thank his new manager, Rob Thomson, who wore that number before but, knowing it meant more to Duran than him, has switched to 49.

Duran was touched, calling it “a big thing for me,” adding the number wasn’t significant until it was assigned to him by the Twins.

Harrison Bader “here to help this team win” after being traded from Twins to #Phillues pic.twitter.com/5EZYBFsW8y
— kevin tresolini (@kevintresolini) August 1, 2025

What did Harrison Bader say?

The much-traveled Bader, 31, played his first six seasons with the Cardinals but has since had stints with the Yankees, Reds, Mets and Twins.

“I'm excited to be on this side and get after it and compete,” he said.

He played center field for the Mets team that beat the Phillies in the divisional playoffs last year before falling to the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. That gave him a taste of Phillies fandom he is happy to now be part of.

New York Mets center fielder Harrison Bader (44) stands in front of a fan to cool off in the dugout against the Washington Nationals during the fourth inning on July 2, 2024, at Nationals Park on July 2, 2024, in Washington, D.C.

“Playing here last year for the Mets,” he said, “I obviously am aware of the atmosphere. And being from the Northeast [the Bronx], I understand the Northeast fan mentality and caliber of fans, so I was extremely excited to always be here as a visitor. Now to be on the other side it's just full circle.”

Bader is batting .258 with 12 homers, 38 RBI and a .778 OPS – .774 versus lefties and .779 against right-handers – in what’s been his most productive season offensively since 2021. He attributed that to experience and better health after oblique and hamstring injuries that sidelined him in 2024.

“My intention," he said, “is to just go out there and play my brand of baseball, just be myself. It's really the only thing I know how to do, both on and off the field.

“So I'm just gonna help this team win. I've kind of been injected into a playoff race and all the notions of ego or me, me and my playing time, they go out the window. I'm here to help this team win. I want a shot at the World Series.

What did Rob Thomson say?

“I think the players look at it as if the front office, everybody's all in,” Thomson said of Phillies’ reactions to the trade, “we’re making moves to win a championship. They see it that way.”

Thomson called Duran, who’ll be used as a closer, “one of the best in the game if he’s not the best.”

As for the jersey number, Thomson told Duran, he said, “Hey, look, the number really doesn't mean much, but if it makes you feel better, I'm all in.”

Duran said his home address is No. 59, and it’s also emblazoned in a swimming pool there.

“The only one that's upset at this point is my wife because all her merchandise has 59 on it,” said Thomson, who added he chose 49 in honor of “my buddy,” former Yankees pitcher Ron Guidry. Thomson was a longtime coach for the Yankees and in their farm system.

Bader will begin as the Phillies’ center fielder in games in which a lefty is starting for the opposition.

But Thomson added that he could also see duty against right-handers and play left field but, said Thomson, “I see him as the best center fielder we’ve got right now.”

“He’s great,” Thomson said. “Comes as advertised. Said all the right things. He's gonna prepare like he's playing every day. He’s gonna play with his hair on fire and get after it. That's what we've seen in the past. Sounds like a great teammate. Wants to win a world championship.”