Phillies' Great Trade Last Year Has Turned a Weakness Into a Strength

As the Philadelphia Phillies get set to host the Arizona Diamondbacks, the team is starting to take shape through 12 games this year. Furthermore, areas of strength and weakness are also becoming clear.

It hasn’t been an ideal start so far for the Phillies in 2026. With expectations once again being World Series or bust, the start to the campaign has been a little flat for Philadelphia.

With a 6-6 record through 12 games, the team clearly isn’t firing on all cylinders just yet. The starting rotation has had some ups and downs so far, and the batting order has struggled. Fortunately, there is still a lot of talent on this roster, and there is reason to believe that everything should be fine.

Last year, the clear strength of the team was their amazing starting rotation. This was a unit that featured some of the best pitchers in the game, led by Zack Wheeler. Unfortunately, Wheeler is still out, and the team also lost Ranger Suarez to free agency. While this is still a great group, it might not be the best unit on the team.

So far, it has been the bullpen that has been leading the way for the team, and that starts with their star closer Jhoan Duran.

Duran Has Changed Bullpen Dynamic

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jhoan Duran celebrating on the mound — Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jhoan Duran | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

While the Phillies have been a very good team the last several years, it has been the bullpen that has constantly been an area of concern for the team. Unfortunately, a bad decision by Orion Kerkering in the playoffs resulted in them losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the unit overall has shown vast improvements.

So far this season, the bullpen has appeared to be the greatest strength of the team. While the starting rotation has a lot of talent as well, it has been the bullpen carrying a bulk of the load early on.

One of the reasons why the unit has been so good is because of closer Jhoan Duran. The 28-year-old was acquired in a trade with the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline last season, and that has proven to be a smart decision. After the trade last year, the talented closer totaled 16 saves and a 2.18 ERA for Philadelphia. So far this campaign, the results have been good as well, totaling four saves and a 1.59 ERA in six games.

Having a shutdown closer like Duran makes things much easier for the rest of the bullpen, and the decision to trade for him has turned a weakness from years past into a strength.