Jhoan Duran has been every bit the elite closer he was advertised as since arriving in Philadelphia last year. In 40 appearances since joining the Phillies at the trade deadline last season, Duran is 27 for 30 in save opportunities with a 1.93 ERA and 0.96 WHIP. He’s off to a great start so far in 2026, as Duran is a perfect 11 for 11 in save opportunities and sports a 1.62 ERA through 17 appearances. He’s been especially dominant since returning from the injured list on May 5th, as he has allowed two runs across 10 appearances on 7 hits with 18 strikeouts to 5 walks.
Naturally, whenever a trade acquisition has been this good with a new team, the idea of a contract extension will inevitably be brought up. Duran is currently under team control via arbitration through the 2027 season and will be eligible for free agency at age 30. He is making $7.5M this season, a nice increase from the $4M he made in 2025. An extension is at least partially on Duran’s mind, as he declined an invitation to pitch in the World Baseball Classic due to his lack of long-term security.
So what would a Duran extension look like? A few recent reliever deals may help paint a picture. Edwin Diaz signed a five year, $103M deal with the Mets prior to 2023 and opted out of the final two years of the deal to hit free agency last offseason. That’s when he agreed to a new three-year deal with the Dodgers worth $69M. That Dodgers deal effectively added an extra year to his original Mets deal and an additional $31M, bringing the total value to $134M over six years for an estimated average annual value of $22M. Josh Hader signed a five year, $95M contract with the Astros prior to 2024 that will pay him an estimated $19M a season. Diaz was 29 when he signed his original deal with the Mets and was 32 when he signed his new deal with the Dodgers while Hader was 30 when he signed with the Astros.
Using those two as a barometer, and assuming Duran continues on his current pace, we can expect that a Jhoan Duran contract extension would cost at least $20M a season and be around five years in length. A five year, $100M+ deal for a reliever may seem terrifying, but that is now the going rate for closers of Duran’s caliber. If the Phillies want to lock up Duran and officially make him a part of their future pitching core with Cristopher Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo, it will behoove them to move sooner rather than later before the closer market balloons again. That is before even factoring in the unknown status of MLB’s financial system in the next CBA.
So, should the Phillies begin negotiations with Jhoan Duran over a contract extension? If so, what contract would you offer? Or should they let him play out his current team control and address it later?
