PHILADELPHIA — Four months ago, Mick Abel took the mound at Citizens Bank Park for his dazzling major-league debut and beat out Pirates ace Paul Skenes in a 1-0 Phillies win. Since that memorable start on May 18, the right-hander’s surroundings have changed and the game has not been so forgiving to him.
But in his final outing of the season, Abel will be back where it all started, facing his old team as a Minnesota Twin on Saturday in Philadelphia to close the book on his rookie year.
“It’ll be special,” Abel said Friday from the visitors’ clubhouse. “This place is a special place, just because I started my career here and was able to at least make an impression. I’m super excited for it.”
A first-round draft pick out of high school in 2020, Abel was a top prospect in the Phillies system who struggled mightily in his first full year at Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2024. But as he returned to the same level at the start of this season, he bounced back with an improved approach to the mental side of pitching. His performance in the minor leagues earned him a spot start when the Phillies needed it in that game versus Pittsburgh, and he delivered with six scoreless innings.
Abel later returned to Philadelphia’s rotation for five additional starts, which did not go as smoothly despite some more positive flashes. With a surplus of starting pitchers, the club sent Abel to the Twins in a deal that netted them closer Jhoan Duran at the trade deadline. After parts of six years in one organization with plenty of ups and downs, Abel’s tenure with the Phillies was up.
“I made a lot of really good relationships over there,” Abel said. “It was definitely hard at first to accept that. I think that was the hardest part about getting traded. But they really helped build me up as to who I am today.”
The 24-year-old has split time between Triple-A St. Paul and Minnesota since the deadline, and the major-league results have not been ideal for the young pitcher. In three appearances (one start, two out of the bullpen) for the Twins, Abel has allowed 13 earned runs in eight innings. However, his new club is not in contention and likely won’t be next season after acting as big sellers this summer. Abel should be able to find some runway.
“It’s great,” Kody Clemens, a former teammate of Abel’s at Lehigh Valley who’s also now with the Twins, said. “I think there’s obviously a bigger opportunity for him here, for him to go out and relax and get multiple starts under his belt in the big leagues. I’m sure there’s a spot for him in their starting rotation next season. So I’m excited for him to just continue to settle in in the big leagues and show what he’s got.”
With a talented, veteran rotation in Philadelphia, it just wasn’t a fit for Abel in the short or long term.
“I’m happy for Mick, too, because he’s going to get a real opportunity,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “He’s got really good stuff. He’s got a really bright future.”
Abel said he was looking forward to seeing “everybody in that clubhouse” while in Philly, and he had a chance to check in with one of his close friends in the organization, Griff McGarry, who was at the ballpark after receiving the club’s Paul Owens Award given to the top minor-league pitcher and position player each year. Abel also said he’ll be watching when the Phillies compete in the postseason. He did have a part in their success, after all.
With only two games left in the regular season, Philadelphia will send out left-hander Ranger Suárez against Abel in the penultimate matchup.
“It’s really cool being back here,” Abel said. “It’s kind of a cool ending of the season.”
