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The Philadelphia Phillies acquired Jhoan Duran from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for a pair of top 100 prospects, right-handed pitcher Mick Abel and catcher Eduardo Tait. The transaction happened on Wednesday, ahead of the trade deadline.
Duran, who wears No. 59, didn't know that in Philadelphia, that number belonged to manager Rob Thomson. However, the manager decided to let go of the number for the best closer in MLB this season.
During the press conference after Friday's game, Duran revealed his wife's feelings on the development, as he explained how he got his desired number.
"My wife almost cried," Duran said. "Yeah, because they send the list they have, the only numbers they have available for me. They said, 'No, only one person has it,'" Duran recalled Friday. "And I said, 'Who?' They said, 'You don't know who has that number?' I said, 'No.' They said, 'It's the manager.'"
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Duran then revealed that somebody may have talked to the manager about how much the number means to the closer. He added:
"I don't know, maybe somebody here, talk to him. And when he called me, he told me, "Hey, I know you wanted my number. I give it to you.'"
Duran also shared why No. 59 means so much to him:
"You know, I got everything with that number. I got the Dominican, I got the house, I got the pool. And on the pool, I put that number too. So I got that number everywhere, you know. So that’s special for me."
Rob Thomson on why he gave up No. 59 jersey for Jhoan Duran
Jhoan Duran, who is in the middle of an excellent season, received a call from manager Rob Thomson regarding the jersey number. The call happened after the Phillies' 9-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
“We were chit-chatting, and I just said, 'Hey, look, the number really doesn’t mean much to me,'” Thomson said Friday. “'But if it makes you feel better, I’m all in.'
"He said, ‘Well, you know ... yeah, I've had it my whole career.’ And I said, 'Then it’s yours.'"
However, Thomson's decision to give up his jersey number has led to her wife getting upset. The manager added:
“The only one that’s upset at this point is my wife. Because all her merchandise has 59 on it. Now we got to go buy her new stuff.”
In Jhoan Duran, the Phillies get a reliable closer, who has posted a 2.01 ERA and recorded 16 saves this season.
