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The Oakland Telegraph
19 August 2031
Duran excels in new closer role as A's continue to steamroller the AL West
By Mary Arnorivera, closers correspondent
A month ago, as the July trade deadline approached, it looked like lefty reliever Jose Duran's time at the Coliseum was up. The 27-year-old was due to be a free agent at the end of the season. GM Paulie Beane felt he wasn't playing well enough to justify the likely $6m plus salary he could probably command for a new contract. The club had a multitude of talented young arms in the minors. He was ripe to be the latest experienced player Beane would flip for a prospect.
But then previous closer Gonzalo Avila blew yet another save, and an exasperated Beane looked round his bullpen for options for a new closer. "Hmm", he thought, looking at pitching coach Ace Onballs's latest report card on Duran. "Hmm", he said. He looked again at Duran's ERA data: 3.71 in 2030. He looked again at Duran's FIP: 2.93 in 2030. He looked again at Duran's strikeouts to walks ratio: 3.04 in 2030. "Hmm", he said for what seemed like the hundredth time, in the vague direction of team analyst Mike Rosoft-Excel, who was doing something or other on a spreadsheet at a desk nearby and getting increasingly irritated by all the hmm-ing. "Hmm".
Beane picked up the phone. "Phil, it's Paulie", he said into the receiver. Phil was field manager Phil D'Manager. "Beane, of course, you plum. Who did you think? Paulie Cicero from Goodfellas? Listen. Our next game, against the Indians. I want Jose to close... No, not Fernandez. For crying out loud. He hasn't played for us for four years. Duran, of course. I want Jose Duran to be our closer."
He hung up. He pondered for a moment, then picked up the phone again and dialled a number. "Hello, can I speak to Scott Boredass please? Hi, Scott, it's Paulie. No. Beane not Cicero. Every time. And it's never been funny. Hey, can we talk about Jose Duran? We like him, he's part of the fabric of the club, and we want him to stay. We'd like to offer him $2m to stay for two more years... No?... Okay then, yes I agree, $13m for two years. It's a deal. My secretary will speak to yours about sorting out the paperwork. Don't choke on the cheque Jose gives you for your 10%", he added, after he'd put the phone down. Man, he bargains hard that Beane.
Duran didn't get the save in that next game, the first after the all-star break. But he did get credited with a win, throwing the two final, scoreless innings as the A's beat the Indians 2-1 in the 10th. And he has excelled since then in the closer role. In last night's 6-3 win he bagged his tenth save, striking out two in a 1-2-3 final inning. His 75-44 Oakland club look to have yet another American League West pennant sewn up, as they have extended their lead over second-placed Houston to 15.5 games.
Duran was the A's first round pick in the 2025 draft and has never been to the all-star game. If he keeps this up, he'll certainly be going next year.
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