Orion

Kerkering

That was the final hurdle for him to clear before returning to Grapefruit League action, which is scheduled to happen on Tuesday. It’s sounding more and more likely that he’ll be available out of the Phillies’ bullpen on Opening Day.

The 24-year-old right-hander continues to progress in his recovery from a Grade 1 hamstring strain. When asked on Thursday about the possibility of Kerkering being ready in time for Opening Day, Phillies’ skipper Rob Thomson replied “possibly”. It sounds like barring any setbacks, the Phillies could have one of their main bullpen arms ready to go on March 26.

Kerkering still has plenty of time to ramp up and get himself ready before Opening Day after suffering a Grade 1 hamstring strain at the outset of spring camp. Barring any setbacks from here, he should be ready to open the season as part of a committee setting up for closer Jhoan Duran.

He’ll be “a little behind” but it’s not expected to prevent him from being ready for Opening Day at this point. Jhoan Duran projects as Philadelphia’s closer and Kerkering only figures to have spot opportunities to close when healthy, so there’s not much reason to roster him in shallow leagues.

Jhoan Duran had this one off after pitching the previous two days. Kerkering struck out one and threw 13 of his 17 pitches for strikes. He’ll continue to set up for Duran for the most part.

Duran avoided serious injury after a scary incident during Friday’s series opener against the Nationals when he had to be carted off the field after being struck in the right foot by a line drive. The Phillies might opt to give the hard-throwing 27-year-old closer a couple days off to rest and recover, but it appears he’ll avoid a trip to the injured list after X-rays came back negative for any fractures. It would be some combination of Orion Kerkering, Matt Strahm and David Robertson handling the closing duties if he’s unavailable this weekend.

It’s certainly an encouraging update after Duran had to be carted off the field after being drilled by a line drive during Friday’s appearance against the Nationals. It doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s out of the woods yet though as initial X-rays often don’t tell the entire story. He’ll head for additional testing. Look for the Phillies to update his status again before Saturday’s ballgame. Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm would be next up if Duran winds up hitting the injured list. Veteran reliever David Robertson is the wild card here given his extensive closing experience.

Jhoan Duran and Matt Strahm were both unavailable tonight, but the Phillies got scoreless frames from Jordan Romano, David Robertson (in his season debut) and Kerkering in the comeback win. It’s Kerkering’s third save of the year, though he probably won’t be getting many more. Duran should be back closing on Tuesday.

The trade is now official. Duran takes over as Philadelphia’s closer after converting 16 of 18 save opportunities to accompany a sparkling 2.01 ERA and 53/18 K/BB ratio across 49 1/3 innings (49 appearances) for the Twins this season. The flame-throwing 27-year-old, who remains under club control through 2027, fills a critical late-inning void left by former closer José Alvarado, who was handed an 80-game PED suspension in mid-May and is ineligible for the postseason. Duran’s arrival gives the Phillies a dominant ninth-inning presence as they prepare for a potential deep postseason run. Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm will bump down to pure setup men, making them droppable in mixed leagues.

The lead was one too many runs for a save, but it’s notable that the Phillies again lined up Orion Kerkering for the eighth and Strahm for the ninth tonight. Since Kerkering’s last save on June 19, he’s pitched the eighth in all four of his appearances. Strahm has pitched the ninth four times, plus one appearance in the eighth, and earned two saves.