Jhoan Duran took a pitch to his lower leg area and had to be carted off in the ninth inning during the Philadelphia Phillies game against the Washington Nationals. The good news is immediate X-rays were negative. While he wasn’t able to put pressure on it, early signs show there’s no significant issues. That said, he will be evaluated further this weekend.
The last thing the Phillies needed was to potentially lose their closer ahead of the MLB postseason. The good thing is all signs are pointing toward things not being horrible. But it doesn’t mean that can’t change. For now, Phillies fans can breathe easy. Duran suffered a scary injury and it looks like it won’t keep him out for a significant amount of time.
Jhoan Duran injury bring cautious optimism to Philadelphia Phillies, amid MLB postseason push
The best thing the Philadelphia Phillies can do is exercise patience with Duran’s return to the bullpen. They don’t need to have him play before the postseason. While the first seed in the MLB playoffs is in play — though a longshot at that — the Phillies don’t need Duran to secure a playoff spot. They have a six-game lead over the New York Mets in the NL East division.
That said, it's a big loss for the Phillies. This season, including before he was traded from the Minnesota Twins to Philadelphia, he has a 1.86 ERA and 20 saves. He also has a 1.13 WHIP with 56 strikeouts. He's everything you want in a closer so of course the Phillies want to have him back as soon as possible.
They have a playoff spot pretty much locked down. They need to make sure Duran is ready for them in the MLB postseason. Rushing him back in the regular season isn’t worth it. That said, it couldn’t be worse for the Phillies losing Duran, not just because he’s a solid player in the bullpen, but because he was a deadline acquisition.
Not having one of the players they traded for at the deadline isn’t ideal, but it will ultimately make his return that much more exciting. He still has team control and at 27 years old, is a player that will be around Philadelphia for quite some time. There’s a lot of excitement about Duran, but the best thing for him is health and recovery.