PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies’ bullpen needed help this summer.
They needed a closer. They needed somebody to reliably pitch the ninth inning whenever they had a lead. If they could find that person, they believed the rest of the bullpen would fall into place, and their chances to win a World Series would improve. The Phils got the closer they needed on July 30, when they got Jhoan Duran in a trade with Minnesota.
Duran delivered the goods, even if the Phillies didn’t have the postseason they imagined. Duran went 1-2 with a 2.18 ERA and 16 saves in 23 appearances with the Phillies, striking out 27 while walking one batter in 20 2/3 innings in the regular season.
Duran was a first-team All-MLB selection, presented by MGM Rewards, on Thursday.
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Kyle Schwarber earned second-team honors at DH. Phillies starters Cristopher Sánchez and Zack Wheeler also earned second-team selections.
The All-MLB Team was introduced in 2019 to honor players’ full-season contributions, given that All-Star selections are based on first-half performance. Fans were asked to vote at MLB.com to help choose first- and second-team selections at each position (including three outfielders, a DH, five starting pitchers and two relievers) among this year's nominees.
Schwarber had a monster season, batting .240 with an NL-leading 56 home runs, an MLB-leading 132 RBIs, a .928 OPS and a 150 OPS+. Schwarber ranked second in the NL in OPS (behind Ohtani's 1.014) and third in OPS+ (behind Ohtani's 179 and Juan Soto's 160).
Schwarber could not only finish second for NL MVP behind Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, he could sign a massive, multi-year contract. The Phillies hope to re-sign the free-agent slugger, but there should be no shortage of suitors for his services.
The Phillies have made re-signing Schwarber a priority.
Sánchez has developed into one of the game’s best pitchers. He went 13-5 with a 2.50 ERA in 32 starts this season. He struck out a career-high 212 and walked 44 in a career-high 202 innings. He led MLB with 8.0 bWAR. He finished second in the NL with 6.4 fWAR.
Wheeler missed the last few weeks of the season because of a blood clot that developed near his right shoulder, which required surgery. But Wheeler was a Cy Young candidate to that point, and people recognized it.
He went 10-5 with a 2.71 ERA in 24 starts with a 5.0 bWAR.