Phillies Avoided Disastrous Mistake by Not Trading for This Rumored Closer Target

The Philadelphia Phillies made the right decision.

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Life is good for the Philadelphia Phillies right now when it comes to the backend of their bullpen.

While the fanbase still has their reservations about that unit based on how they have performed the last few years and how they looked for the better part of this season, the addition of Jhoan Duran ahead of the trade deadline has transformed things when it comes to save situations.

But he wasn't the only one who the Phillies were linked to, with Felix Bautista of the Baltimore Orioles being a popular name floated out there as a target of theirs. The Orioles ultimately decided to hold onto the right-hander, something that seems like it might have been a mistake since Bautista just underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and labrum in his throwing shoulder that will put him on the shelf for at least the next 12 months.

Phillies Avoided Disaster by Not Trading for Felix Bautista

Expected to miss at least the next 12 months https://t.co/f7YPMQqvfl

— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) August 20, 2025

That is a tough break for Baltimore, but it's not something that affects Philadelphia any longer.

Connected to the big right-hander because the two teams have made a couple of trades with each other in the past -- including two deadline deals last year in 2024 -- it would have been easy for Dave Dombrowski to go back to the well and push the chips in for Bautista.

Despite him returning from Tommy John surgery this season after he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023, the 2.60 ERA across 35 appearances could have enticed the aggressive executive to make a play for Bautista since he has multiple years of club control remaining and won the Mariano Rivera Reliever of the Year Award just two seasons prior.

It didn't seem like the Orioles were willing to move him when it came time to do something, so perhaps they took the decision out of Dombrowski's hands. But it's clear that the addition of Duran is much better than adding Bautista would have been.

Trading for Jhoan Duran Was Right Decision by Phillies

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Acquired from the Minnesota Twins for a prospect package of Eduardo Tait and Mick Abel, the hard-throwing closer has been nothing short of special since coming to the Phillies, not allowing a single run across seven appearances and 5 2/3 innings pitched, going a perfect 6-for-6 in save opportunities.

The trade couldn't have worked out better for Philadelphia thus far, and with Bautista likely to miss all of the 2026 season, not only are the Phillies reaping the benefit of having a difference-making closer in their midst right now, they also will have one available next year compared to if they had traded for Bautista.

Sometimes the most important thing in sports is to be lucky, and Philadelphia has to be thanking their lucky stars that the Minnesota Twins actually decided to pull the plug on their season and short-term future by becoming sellers at this year's deadline, allowing them to trade for Duran.

Now, with the right-hander in the mix, the Phillies have one of the best closers in the sport coming out of their bullpen, something they wouldn't have had if they traded for Bautista instead.