Both the Mets and Yankees are in desperate need of adding to their respective bullpens before Major League Baseball’s trade deadline on Thursday, and it appears they are both in the hunt for star Minnesota Twins reliever Jhoan Duran.
John Heyman of the New York Post was first to report the interest coming from both New York teams, though they also have competition from the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Seattle Mariners.
The 27-year-old right-hander is the crown jewel of the bullpen market this summer. He has a 2.01 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 43 strikeouts in 49.1 innings of work this season, which has continued his dominance since debuting in the majors five years ago. He has a career 2.47 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and an 11.2 strikeouts-per-nine-innings rate.
He has a fastball that averages 100 mph, which sets up a devastating splitter and knuckle curveball that have putaway rates over 21%.
Not only is he one of the premier late-inning relievers in the game, but he is also under team control through the 2027 season via arbitration. He is earning just $4.125 million this season, which suggests that the Twins will be looking for a king’s ransom for him.
With the Mets, Duran would create one of the most imposing late-inning duos the game has seen in quite some time as a set-up man in front of closer Edwin Diaz, who has returned to his All-Star form in 2025. It would also lengthen a bullpen that has been stretched remarkably thin after significant injuries to AJ Minter, Danny Young, Max Krannick, and Dedniel Nunez.
Should he go to the Bronx, he becomes an immediate candidate to take over as closer from the inconsistent Devin Williams, who has failed to live up to his All-Star hype after being acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers over the winter.
He momentarily lost his job to Luke Weaver, who had been stellar until going down with a left hamstring strain that kept him out for three weeks. Since his return from the IL, he has a 7.07 ERA.
