Duran threw a scoreless inning in Thursday's spring training loss to Toronto. Duran was hit by a line drive in his leg Sunday during a minor league game.
Duran only suffered a bruise and his leg shouldn't be an issue for Opening Day. He'll be a primary weapon in the Minnesota bullpen again in 2023, but manager Rocco Baldelli hasn't tipped his hand about his plan for the closer role this spring. While Duran may be Minnesota's best reliever, Baldelli usually runs his bullpen with disregard to the save statistic. Duran had eight saves and 18 holds with a 1.86 ERA over 67.2 innings as a rookie last year.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Set to pitch Thursday
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Duran (leg) is scheduled to pitch in Thursday's spring training game against Toronto, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.
Duran took a line drive to the leg Sunday but walked away with nothing more than a bruise. There never was much concern over his injury to begin with, and Duran himself said his leg is fine. The 25-year-old reliever was dominant last season while recording eight saves alongside a 1.86 ERA and 0.98 WHIP through 67.2 innings, and he appears in line to have a similar 2023 campaign.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Suffers leg contusion
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Duran sustained a leg contusion after being struck by a line drive during a backfield game Sunday, and manager Rocco Baldelli said the right-hander was "moving pretty well," Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
There doesn't seem to be much concern regarding the incident, so it appears Duran escaped with only a minor injury. The 25-year-old may be held out for a couple days but should return to the mound relatively quickly. Duran had eight saves and 18 holds with a 1.86 ERA over 67.2 innings as a rookie last season, and he may not see consistent saves this year since Baldelli prioritizes late-inning matchups over the usage of a traditional closer.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Having strong spring
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Duran has thrown five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and two walks this spring. He reached 101.1 mph with his fastball in his last outing Thursday.
Duran has already been in mid-season form with his velocity and looks ready for the regular season. He'll be a primary weapon in the Minnesota bullpen, but manager Rocco Baldelli hasn't tipped his hand about his plan for the closer role this spring. While Duran may be the best reliever, Baldelli usually runs his bullpen with disregard to the save statistic. Duran may be used in high-leverage matchups with Jorge Lopez pitching the ninth inning, for example. However, Duran's elite velocity and prior success are traits that could lead Baldelli to break with tradition and use him as the primary closer if he opts to abandon the committee approach.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Throwing live BP
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Duran (hamstring) threw live batting practice Sunday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
Duran pulled out of consideration for the World Baseball Classic after he suffered a mild hamstring injury in January, but he's recently been throwing bullpen sessions and is now facing live batters. The 24-year-old was dominant as a rookie last year and recorded eight saves and 18 holds with a 1.86 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 89:16 K:BB over 67.2 innings. Duran is likely the Twins' best reliever, but he could open the season splitting save chances with Jorge Lopez.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Out for WBC due to hamstring
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Duran bowed out of the World Baseball Classic because of a mild hamstring injury, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
Duran is all good now -- he's been throwing regular bullpen sessions at Twins camp -- but he decided to remove himself from consideration for the Dominican Republic's bullpen when he experienced a bit of hamstring tightness last month. The 25-year-old burst onto the MLB scene in 2022 and is expected to have a share of the closer role in Minnesota this season. Jorge Lopez looks like the primary frontrunner for saves.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Picks up eighth save
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Duran earned the save Sunday in Cleveland, striking out two and walking one in the ninth inning of a 3-0 victory.
Facing the heart of the Guardians' lineup, Duran navigated a walk and kept Cleveland off the board to earn the save. It was his second save in the last four days, and he's now 8-for-8 in save chances on the season. The rookie has a 0.76 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 36:8 K:BB in 23.2 innings since the All-Star break. With Jorge Lopez's recent struggles, Duran may get more save chances over the final couple of weeks.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Notches seventh save
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Duran earned a save against Kansas City on Thursday, allowing two hits and striking out two batters in a scoreless ninth inning.
With the Twins up one run heading into the ninth inning, manager Rocco Baldelli called upon Duran to notch the tough save. The right-hander allowed consecutive singles to start the frame but retired the next three batters -- the final two by strikeout -- to slam the door. Regular closer Jorge Lopez has struggled of late, giving up four runs over his past 4.1 innings. Given Duran's dominance this season (he holds a 1.70 ERA and 84:14 K:BB over 63.2 innings), it wouldn't be surprising to see him get more opportunities to close down the stretch.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Records 15th hold with clean inning
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Duran struck out two in a perfect inning Monday against the Royals to secure the hold.
The rookie reliever set down the Royals in order in the eighth inning to earn his fifth hold since the beginning of August and his 15th on the season. With a fastball that routinely hits triple digits and a curveball and changeup that he can call on at any time, Jhoan has been one of the most effective relievers this season. His 2.32 xFIP is good for second among all pitchers who have thrown at least 50 innings this season.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Completes two-inning save
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Duran picked up the save Saturday against the White Sox. He allowed three hits and zero walks while striking out three over two scoreless innings.
His pitch count ticked up to 40 by the end -- a season high -- but Duran was able to get Tim Anderson to ground out to shut the door in the ninth. Duran now has six saves this season to go along with a dominant 51:8 K:BB over 42 innings, and with Emilio Pagan out of the closer role for Minnesota, Duran should have plenty of chances to add to his saves total in the second half.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Picks up loss in relief
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Duran (0-3) took the loss in Saturday's 9-7 loss against Texas, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out none and walking one over one inning.
Duran gave up the game-tying and game-winning runs for the Rangers in the eighth inning on a Marcus Semien RBI triple and a Mitch Garver RBI single. Those two runs were the first Duran has allowed since June 9. The righty had reduced his ERA to 1.95 prior to Saturday's contest, but it now sits at 2.37.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Possible waiver wire pickups
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Emilio Pagan was recently removed from the closer role, at least as much as someone who never officially had it can be, and though the Twins haven't had a save chance since then, we have a pretty good idea what direction they'll go for their next one. Duran worked the bottom of the 10th inning Monday after the Twins rallied to take a four-run lead in the top half. He then worked the ninth inning of a tie game Wednesday. These are situations where you'd normally expect to see a closer. Pagan, meanwhile, continues to put himself in a deeper hole, allowing two runs while working the fifth inning Wednesday. Manager Rocco Baldelli probably won't anoint Duran in any official way, but judging from his numbers so far, he could take the job and run with it.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Possible waiver wire pickups
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Another day, another meltdown for Emilio Pagan, whose grip on the closer role has already diminished. At this point, it would be malpractice for manager Rocco Baldelli to hand the ninth inning to anyone other than Duran, the rookie fireballer with the near 8-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He's been not only the Twins' most effective reliever but also one of the best in all of baseball, and he did secure the team's most recent save chance Sunday, with Pagan entering in the sixth. On Wednesday, Duran handled the eighth and ninth innings, both scoreless, while Pagan blew it for the Twins in the 10th. Baldelli's bullpen management has been particularly frustrating for Fantasy Baseballers, but he's running out of excuses.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Likely primary closer in Toronto
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Duran is likely to serve as Minnesota's primary closer for this weekend's three-game series in Toronto after Emilio Pagan (not injury related) was placed on the restricted list Friday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
The rookie right-hander is already seeing occasional save chances for Minnesota this year with four saves in 18 appearances, and he's now expected to be the primary option this weekend with Pagan not traveling to Canada. Duran has been excellent in his first taste of the majors with a 2.22 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and impressive 35:4 K:BB over 24.1 innings.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Snags another save Tuesday
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Duran pitched a scoreless ninth inning on his way to a save in Tuesday's 2-0 win over the Tigers. He hit a batter and allowed a base knock.
With Emilio Pagan unavailable after working two innings Monday, Duran was called upon in the ninth Tuesday. He allowed a single to Miguel Cabrera to open the frame and hit Jeimer Candelario with one out in the inning, but he was able to get Willi Castro to ground into a double play to end the game. The 24-year-old has now converted all four of his save opportunities this year while also snagging four holds. Duran has posted a 2.53 ERA and 0.75 WHIP with 31 punchouts over 21.1 innings in 16 appearances in 2022.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Notches third save
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Duran struck out two and earned a save with a perfect inning against the Royals on Sunday.
Duran threw 14 of 17 pitches for strikes and forced five whiffs in a dominant outing to earn his third save. The 24-year-old flamethrower threw seven fastballs in the appearance, all ranging between 100-102 miles per hour. He lowered his season ERA to 2.66 with an outstanding 31:3 K:BB through 20.1 innings.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Records six-out save
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Duran picked up his second save of the season Saturday against the Athletics, striking out five and allowing one walk in two hitless, scoreless innings.
Duran entered the top of the eighth with a one-run lead and promptly struck out the side. He had a bit more of an adventurous ninth inning, walking Seth Brown with two outs before hitting Sean Murphy, but he struck out Christian Bethancourt to secure the save. He now owns a 3.68 ERA and a 42.1 percent strikeout rate through 14.2 innings this season.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Secures first save
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Duran struck out one batter in a perfect inning and earned a save over the Orioles on Monday.
Getting the first save chance of his MLB career, Duran needed just 10 pitches to finish off the 2-1 victory against Baltimore. The 6-foot-5 righty has struck out eight batters during his active six-inning scoreless streak. He's lowered his ERA to 3.00 through 12 innings on the year.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Electric in MLB debut
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Duran threw two scoreless innings with four strikeouts and a walk in his MLB debut in Friday's loss to Seattle. He reached 100 mph with his fastball on six pitches. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said he plans to use Duran in the middle innings while he adjusts to the majors, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Duran gave up hits to the first two batters he faced and then struck out the side in his first inning. The 24-year-old entered the game in the fifth inning and may be used in similar lower-leverage situations in the short term, but given his dominant arsenal he could be closing games before too long.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Makes MLB roster
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The Twins announced Monday that Duran will be included on the Opening Day roster.
Duran was limited to just 16 innings in 2021 -- all at Triple-A St. Paul -- due to an elbow issue, but he made enough of an impression in spring training to push his way on to the Opening Day roster. During Grapefruit League play, Duran has turned in six scoreless innings while striking out eight batters and reaching triple digits with his fastball. He could easily be sent to Triple-A with a slow start to the season, but he could also quickly find a high-leverage role in the bullpen.
