Jhoan Duran is the Phillies’ new closer and will give the bullpen ‘a lot of length,’ Rob Thomson says

CHICAGO — Word started to spread through the Phillies’ dugout during Wednesday’s rain-delayed 9-3 loss to the White Sox. Their front office made a big swing. Jhoan Duran was headed to Philly.

The Phillies acquired Duran, a flame-throwing right-handed reliever under team control until 2027, from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for prospects Mick Abel and Eduardo Tait. After the deal was finalized, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and general manager Preston Mattingly spoke with Duran. He told them he’d do anything they wanted him to do.

“That tells me he’s probably got pretty good makeup,” said manager Rob Thomson.

» READ MORE: Phillies acquire closer Jhoan Duran from Twins: ‘He was the best guy out there’

But the Phillies want him for a specific role: to be their closer.

That’s not a term they previously have used under Thomson, who typically prefers to deploy his bullpen based on matchups rather than designating a pitcher for a certain inning. Not anymore.

“He’s had that role, and he’s been really good at it,” Thomson said. “He gets both left-handed and right-handed hitters out. So now you’ve got a lot of length in that bullpen.”

Right-handers have an OPS of .579 against Duran this season. Lefties have an OPS of .529.

“He’s a legitimate closer,” Dombrowski said. “And we talked about it beforehand, that if we got him, he’d be our guy.”

With Duran now slated for the ninth, there are trickle-down impacts for the other relievers. Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering will be the “main setup guys” and pitch the seventh and eighth, Thomson said.

On Wednesday, Thomson used Max Lazar in the seventh inning with the Phillies and White Sox tied, 2-2. He subsequently unraveled and allowed six runs on seven hits in one-third of an inning. Thomson went to the rookie in that spot because he wanted to save Strahm and Kerkering for the eighth and ninth innings. With Duran in the mix now, they will slide up.

“You’ve got leverage almost in every guy down there, with Strahm and Kerkering, and [Tanner] Banks has pitched really well,” Thomson said. “Lazar, up until [Wednesday], has pitched really well. [Jordan] Romano seems like he can be a guy that can come in and finish an inning for you with runners on base. We got some pieces now.”

» READ MORE: Murphy: With Jhoan Duran in the fold at a modest price, the Phillies might as well go for broke

How much will having set roles help the bullpen?

“A lot,” Strahm said. “ … Any time you can add a closer to a bullpen, it’s going to help.”

Duran isn’t the only relief reinforcement on the way soon. The Phillies also will add David Robertson once he completes his ramp-up in Lehigh Valley, and José Alvarado will be eligible to return from his PED suspension on Aug. 19. Alvarado, who can start a rehab assignment next week, is ineligible to pitch in the postseason.

But the addition of Duran in particular has sent a message to the clubhouse.

“It’s huge,” Bryce Harper said. “[Dombrowski] has faith in our ability, in this team to win games. We got a really good chance to win a World Series this year. I think some of the things we’ve ran into the last couple years is bullpen. Everybody knows that. That’s not a secret. So we got the help that we needed. And I don’t think he’s done.”

Kyle Schwarber said the move reminded him of the Cubs’ acquisition of Aroldis Chapman at the 2016 trade deadline, when Schwarber was in Chicago. They leaned on him heavily throughout their postseason run, and Chapman earned the win in Game 7 of the World Series.

“It just lifted the spirits of everyone,” Schwarber said. “And I feel like that’s going to be the same thing.”