The Philadelphia Phillies were busy at the trade deadline, making two trades with the Minnesota Twins to bolster their roster for a run at an NL East title. They acquired Harrison Bader to shore up center field and add a right-handed bat to a struggling outfield, but the headliner was the blockbuster deal to acquire electric closer Jhoan Duran, addressing a bullpen which had been a weakness all season.
Duran sure seems like a perfect fit in Philly so far, but he wasn't the only closer that the team was considering. We saw tons of relief arms change teams leading up to last week's deadline, from Ryan Helsley to David Bednar to Mason Miller. And it seems like Dave Dombrowski even tried to make a run at the latter.
However, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the asking price was just simply too high for the Phils, which prompted them to shift to Duran.
"The Phillies were unwilling to part with right-hander Andrew Painterthe No. 7 prospect in Keith Law’s latest top 60, and traded two other young talents, righty Mick Abel and catcher Eduardo Tait, for Minnesota Twins closer Jhoan Duran.," Rpsenthal wrote.
Ultimately, the Phillies may have made the right call by not making this trade. As the old saying goes, sometimes the best move is the one you don't make. Despite some injuries early in his professional career, Painter, a 22-year-old right-hander is the Phillies' top prospect, and a player who simply isn't worth the upgrade from Duran to Miller.
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It's always possible that the Athletics were inquiring about other top prospects too, such as shortstop Aidan Miller and outfielder Justin Crawford, the No. 2 and No. 3 prospects in their system, respectively. The Phillies have also been very hesitant to part ways with Miller in previous trade talks.
But while Miller would have boosted the Phillies bullpen, they didn't want to part ways with Painter, and that may ultimately serve them well in the future.
Miller is 1-2 with a 3.66 ERA in 39 appearances and has saved 20 games this season. He was an All-Star in 2024 with The Athletics when he posted a 2.49 ERA in 55 appearances and recorded 28 saves.
The San Diego Padres made clear that they were not afraid to part with top talent in order to make a deal happen, and they gave up some top prospects to land Miller. It's clear that the asking price the A's had for Miller was one that the Phillies were ultimately not willing to meet.
It will be interesting to see how Duran pans out as the Phillies closer for the next few years. Given the potential in Painter's right arm, as well as the uncertain future regarding current starters like Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and free agent-to-be Ranger Suarez, you can't blame Dombrowski for pivoting elsewhere.