Red Sox insider provides major update on Jarren Duran sweepstakes

The Boston Red Sox’s surplus of outfielders has been a frequent topic of discussion this season. 

The Red Sox entered the season with Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran manning the three outfield spots with lefty masher Rob Refsnyder mixing in against southpaws. The situation was complicated, however, with the promotion of top prospect Roman Anthony, who has posted a 121 OPS+ in his first 35 MLB games. The final addition to the group was the activation of Masataka Yoshida, the $90 million man who has frequently occupied the designated hitter spot since returning from a shoulder injury on July 9.

With six players for four spots, the common consensus would be that the Red Sox would trade one of their outfielders at the trade deadline, and Jarren Duran figured to be the odd man out. At 28, he is the oldest of the group besides Refsnyder, who doesn’t require everyday at-bats, and Yoshida, whose contract and lack of defensive versatility make him virtually unmovable right now. In addition, while Rafaela and Abreu have taken steps forward both in the field and at the plate this season, Duran has regressed from his 2024 All-Star campaign, seeing his OPS drop by 68 points and his defensive metrics plummet. 

Yet in the last month, two events have transpired that have worked in Duran’s favor. The first is that the Red Sox have gone 16-6 since June 30 with Duran (.294/.407/.647) right in the center of the action, transforming them from possible sellers to almost certain buyers. The second is a wrist injury to infielder Marcelo Mayer, which has required Rafaela to play more second base and thus opened up more at-bats for the other outfielders. 

Though there have still been some rumblings about a possible trade with the San Diego Padres involving starter Dylan Cease, WEEI’s Rob Bradford seemingly put an end to those rumors in his article this morning. 

“Multiple major league sources have said that the Red Sox are no longer entertaining the idea of trading Jarren Duran, which is an obvious step in the right direction in the eyes of this current clubhouse,” Bradford wrote. 

Though the Red Sox will likely look to move one of their outfielders this offseason, it is becoming clear that their main priorities this trade deadline are adding a first baseman and a starting pitcher to gear up for a postseason run. 

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