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Phillies Hoping to Land One of AL Central Reliever Trade Targets

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matthew Sullivan | Last updated Jul 13, 2025 1:45 PM ET

There's no bigger need for the Philadelphia Phillies at the MLB trade deadline than a reliever. Jordan Romano has struggled, Jose Alvarado has been suspended and the rest of the bullpen has been shaky.

The Phillies are looking especially closely at the American League Central to address the need. They've been linked to Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, and more recently, the Phillies are reportedly scouting a pair of Minnesota Twins relievers.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Phillies are targeting Minnesota's Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran, and hope to land one or both of those relievers at the trade deadline.

"The Philadelphia Phillies have been extensively scouting Minnesota Twins relievers Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax," Nightengale writes, "hoping to acquire at least one of them."

Either would be a nice pickup, with both relievers under team control through the 2027 season. Of the two, Duran is the most intriguing.

Duran (27) is younger than Jax (30) and has been having a better season than his teammate. Through 43 appearances, Duran has a 1.49 ERA, a 5-3 record and 15 saves.

Across Duran's 42.1 innings pitched, he has 47 strikeouts, 16 walks and a 1.087 WHIP, and he has yet to give up a home run. Duran also has a career-high 284 ERA+ this season, yet he isn't an All-Star.

He's easily one of the top options for the Phillies at the deadline, but if he proves too expensive or challenging to land, Jax could be a nice fallback option.

In 2024, Jax was one of the best relievers in the game. He had a 2.03 ERA in 71 innings pitched with 95 strikeouts and 15 walks.

This season has been a bit different. Through his 40.1 innings pitched, Jax has a 4.02 ERA, 65 strikeouts and 10 walks. Last season, he had an ERA+ of 207, but in 2025, his ERA+ is at 105, barely above league average.

His struggles would seemingly make him more available than Duran, but if the Phillies could get him back to 2024 form, they'd have a strong reliever in their bullpen.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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