The first huge splash of the deadline was made when the Philadelphia Phillies acquired All-Star closer Jhoan Duran from the Minnesota Twins.

As we were about to publish that…the New York Mets matched their division rival by acquiring closer Ryan Helsley from the St. Louis Cardinals.

Two huge moves by a pair of rivals trying to compete. This is what the deadline is all about, folks.

Jhoan Duran Traded to the Phillies

There we have it, folks! The Phillies have swung the first huge trade of the deadline by acquiring one of the best closers in baseball in Jhoan Duran.

The Phillies are firmly in the contender tier with more reason than just about anyone to push the chips in before it’s too late.

They have an aging core featuring a number of key stars in the late stages of their careers, which clearly incentivizes them to make a move like this.

Trade Details

The Phillies acquire Duran, who has been one of the best closers in baseball across the past three seasons.

After a bit of a shaky year last season in his second year closing for Minnesota, he’s putting together a career-best season right now. Duran has pitched to a 2.01 ERA, going 16-for-18 in save opportunities, for Minnesota on the year.

He has proven to be one of the best closers in the game at just 27 years old and will immediately slide into that role for Philadelphia.

Duran has two more years of arbitration, which gives the Phillies their late-inning stud for potentially three playoff runs at a reasonable price.

A closer of his caliber with years of control was not going to come at a cheap cost, and it ended up being two of the best prospects in the Phillies system.

In return for their star closer, Minnesota will receive prospects RHP Mick Abel and C Eduardo Tait from the Phillies.

Tait has burst onto the scene in the past year, as the 18-year-old catcher is ranked as our 63rd-best prospect in baseball on our Top 100. He’s one of the youngest players at the High-A level following a recent promotion.

The young catcher reached Single-A last year at just 17 years old and has carried over that success. In 75 games at that level this year, Tait slashed .251/.322/.436 with 11 home runs and 19 doubles.

Abel debuted with Philadelphia earlier this season and made his first six MLB starts prior to be optioned back to Triple-A. He’s ready for a big league role and should get innings down the stretch in Minnesota.

The former first round pick struggled last season at the upper levels, but bounced back in a big way this year with a 2.31 ERA and 81 strikeouts across 74 innings in Triple-A.

The pairing of these two offers Minnesota an instant part of their pitching staff with mid-rotation upside and a projectable young hitter to continue developing in their system.

Team Fit and Outlooks

This move makes all the sense in the world for the Phillies and signals that the Twins are selling with hopes of gearing up for the future.

Philadelphia will be without closer Jose Alvarado in the postseason as he’s ineligible to compete due to a PED suspension. This made adding a high-end reliever essential for the Phillies at the deadline.

The years of control make this a no-brainer for them as they can try to compete with their aging core and have Duran anchor the end of games. Having him close out games in place of the completely unreliable Jordan Romano is obviously the way to go for the Phillies.

For Minnesota, this signals the start of selling off. If they’re trading Duran, it signals that they’re not looking to compete right now and are likely shifting gears for the long-term future.

Ryan Helsley Traded to the Mets

It didn’t take David Stearns long to match the move made by Phillies GM Dave Dombrowski. While the Mets have Edwin Diaz closing games, they just added another closer in Ryan Helsley, who instantly becomes the best setup man in baseball.

The Mets have been a clear contender since the second they signed Juan Soto, and are going to do whatever it takes to compete this year.

With this move, the team solidifies their bullpen even further after adding Tyler Rogers from the San Francisco Giants earlier today.

Trade Details

The Mets receive Ryan Helsley, who is one of the most electric relievers in baseball despite being in the midst of a down year for his standards.

Helsley has pitched to a 3.00 ERA this season for St. Louis, going 21-for-26 in save opportunities. Prior to this season, he has posted an ERA of 2.45 or better in each of the past three seasons and recorded an MLB-best 49 saves in 2024 for the Cardinals.

This is his final year of arbitration, though, as he’ll be hitting free agency at the end of the season, making this a rental for the Mets.

In exchange for Helsley, the Cardinals net three prospects from the Mets’ system in Jesus Baez, Nate Dohm, and Frank Elissalt.

Baez is the headliner of the deal as he was a highly-regarded international signing out of the Dominican Republic. The 20-year-old infielder has slashed .242/.332/.390 with a 118 wRC+ this season, primarily in High-A.

Dohm was a third round pick by the Mets in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Mississippi State and has impressed in his first professional season. The 22-year-old right-hander has pitched to a 2.87 ERA with a 28.8% strikeout rate in 62.2 innings at the lower levels.

Elissalt was the 19th round pick of the Mets in last year’s draft and has been steady as well this season. He has a 3.04 ERA on the year, also between Single-A and High-A like Dohm.

Team Fit and Outlooks

The Mets are wasting no time matching their divisional rival as they answer back quickly with a bullpen addition of their own.

With one of the stronger farm systems in baseball, New York could afford to trade three assets for a rental especially given it was none of their six prospects who cracked our Top 100.

New York is likely not done making moves as they’re firmly in the mix for a number of center field options.

The Cardinals are essentially giving up on the idea of trying to compete this season, and we could see them sell off a couple more veterans before the deadline passes tomorrow.

While it’s not the quality of package the Twins got back, they add a projectable young hitter and two high-floor arms to their farm system.