On Friday night, the New York Yankees will begin a three-game series against the Athletics at Raley Field.
The Yankees most recently swept the Royals, winning the last game of the series 7-0.
Closer David Bednar picked up his 12th save of the season in the first game of the series.
New York Yankees Urged to Trade for Jhoan Duran
During last season’s trade deadline, the New York Yankees tried to put together a super bullpen as the team traded for All-Star closer David Bednar of the Pittsburgh Pirates, All-Star Giants closer Camilo Doval, talented reliever Jake Bird and paired them alongside Luke Weaver.
The trades produced mixed results, despite Bednar proving to be a bright spot on the 2025 Yankees team.
Unfortunately, in his second season as the team’s closer Bednar has struggled. Doval has not improved upon his 2025 struggles, and the team’s bullpen has been described as, “one of the most frustrating parts of the ball club.”
As a result, New York Yankees on SI’s Joseph Randazzo is imploring the Yankees to once again explore the trade market in search for upgrades to the team’s bullpen. Randazzo specifically mentioned Philadelphia Phillies star closer Jhoan Duran as a name to watch as he wrote:
“One team to watch is the Philadelphia Phillies, specifically with their closer Jhoan Duran, whom they acquired last season from the Minnesota Twins. Duran would be a clear upgrade from Bednar, and that would push him back to the eight inning, thus extending the bullpen a bit and giving them the type of depth they haven’t had the last two seasons.
Duran should shoot to the top of the Yankees’ trade board. He has a 1.62 ERA in 16.2 innings, with an absurd 26 strikeouts and five walks.
Duran’s bread and butter is that fastball. He has a 99th percentile fastball velocity in all of baseball, averaging 100.1 MPH on his heater.”
Potential Fit With the Yankees
While Duran’s season has been stellar so far, the Phillies will likely not trade him if they continue surging, as they have as of late since firing manager Rob Thomson. The team is now 20-8 since promoting Yankees legend Don Mattingly to interim manager.
However, if a trade does occur, Randazzo wrote about Duran’s potential fit:
“Duran would be an upgrade from Bednar in every sense of the word. Adding him, and potentially Carlos Lagrange, who has even more of an electric fastball than Duran, and potentially Ryan Weathers, would up the Yankees’ strikeout ability in the pen. For a part of the team that has been a weakness, the bullpen has a chance at being a real strength.”
Even if Duran is not available, the Yankees should still likely explore a trade for a reliever. Randazzo wrote of the team’s bullpen struggles:
“The New York Yankees bullpen has been one of the most frustrating parts of the ball club. They always seem to be walking a tightrope when games are close, and you never know which version of Camilo Doval and David Bednar will show up in the 8th and 9th innings.
Even still, with Doval posting a 5.40 ERA and Bednar a 4.70 ERA, their 3.40 ERA ranks 4th in the American League. Ahead of them are the Red Sox and Rangers, and all three are below .500.”
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