The Twins have only won six games on the season, so save chances have been few and far between for the Twins’ stopper. It wasn’t easy in this one either, as Mark Vientos reached on an error and Luisangel Acuna smacked a two-out single that brought the tying run to the plate, but Duran was able to strike out Francisco Lindor to put an end to the threat. He now holds a 1.23 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and a 6/3 K/BB ratio over 7 1/3 innings on the season.

Duran showed his best velocity of the spring today, with his four fastballs averaging 100.0 mph and his nine splitters coming in at 97.0. It’s a little concerning that Rocco Baldelli never has actually named Duran his 2025 closer, given that he seemed to prefer Griffin Jax at the very end of last season. Still, we imagine Duran will get most of the chances, even if Baldelli isn’t as strict with the ninth as the typical manager.

Duran retired the first batter he faced, only to go walk, single, walk afterwards. The second walk, drawn by Thayron Liranzo, was an 11-pitch affair, and the Twins didn’t want to extend Duran any further after that. The runs all scored off Jacob Bosiokovic after Duran was lifted. It looks ugly for Duran in the box score, but it wasn’t a particularly discouraging day. Maybe the Duran of 2023 would have put Liranzo away earlier, but the prospect deserves a ton of credit; he didn’t chase outside of the strike zone once in those 11 pitches.

The flame-throwing 27-year-old had been projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to earn $3.7 million in his first season of arbitration eligibility. Duran had a shaky season by his standards in 2024, posting a career-worst 3.64 ERA to go along with a 1.16 WHIP and a 66/15 K/BB ratio across 54 1/3 frames. With Griffin Jax nipping at his heels in the Twins’ bullpen, he’ll need to start the 2025 season off strong or he could be in danger of losing his grip on the ninth inning gig.