Phillies Losing Key Pitcher To Injured List Comes at a Terrible Time

The Philadelphia Phillies have placed a key pitcher on the injured list in the middle of a bad stretch of baseball.

May 26, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a Philadelphia Phillies hat and glove on the bench against the Atlanta Braves in the seventh inning at Truist Park. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

With the Philadelphia Phillies in the midst of a terrible stretch, they recently received some bad injury news for one of their key players. 

It has not been a good stretch of baseball for the Phillies in their last 10 games. This is a team that has lost seven of their last 10 games, including three series in a row. With a big matchup against the Atlanta Braves this weekend, the team was hoping to turn things around. 

Unfortunately, Friday night did not go well with the team being blown out and starter Taijuan Walker getting rocked in four innings of work. Furthermore, with a big game looming with Cristopher Sanchez facing off against Chris Sale, Philadelphia announced that they will be playing Jhoan Duran on the injured list with an oblique strain. 

Major Blow at a Bad Time

Jhoan Duran to the injured list, Felix Reyes called up, and more from the #Phillies. pic.twitter.com/NT21pJOaLY

— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) April 18, 2026

While it is never a good time for a star player to go on the injured list, with the Phillies not playing well right now, losing Duran is far from ideal. The right-hander was a major acquisition by the franchise at the trade deadline last year, and he has been a great move to solidify the bullpen. 

After coming over from the Twins last year, Duran totaled a 2.18 ERA and saved 16 games for Philadelphia. For a team that was in need of a shutdown closer, the right-hander was able to be just that for them. While the price might have been steep, he stepped in right away and made the bullpen much better. 

This season, he was once again off to a good start, totaling a 1.35 ERA and five saves. In his absence, Philadelphia is going to have some problems in the bullpen. The pitching staff overall hasn’t been great, and they will need players to step up while he is out. 

With Duran out, the team will likely be asking Brad Keller to step up into the closer role. Furthermore, in middle relief, they will need Jose Alvarado and Orion Kerkering to be better than they have thus far this campaign. 

Overall, losing their closer to the IL is not ideal, and the timing isn’t great either. Philadelphia is a team that hasn’t been playing well, and now the bullpen is going to be a major question mark. Hopefully, the starting rotation and lineup can start to get going, as they won’t have their anchor for a little while.