Caleb Durbin has gone from an early-season headache to one of the biggest reasons the Boston Red Sox keep rolling.
Boston brought Durbin in from the Milwaukee Brewers this offseason to be its starting third baseman, but the first week or so of the year looked rough. He opened the season 0-for-18, and for a while it was fair to wonder whether the Red Sox had overpaid to land the diminutive infielder.
That conversation looks a lot different now.
On Monday night, Durbin delivered the swing that mattered most, launching a clutch solo home run that proved to be the game-winner in Boston’s 14th straight victory.
Over his last 30 games, Durbin is batting .308 with seven home runs in 107 at-bats, along with six stolen bases. His slugging percentage in that stretch sits at .551.
And for a player listed at 5-foot-6, that’s not the kind of production anyone would have expected from the start. He’s the sort of hitter easy to miss, but lately he’s made sure nobody can ignore him.
The Red Sox, too, are making that same point. Their season is starting to look less like a story about a slow beginning and more like one about how hot they’ve become - and how far they might take it from here.
Durbin’s early 0-for-18 won’t matter much if he keeps swinging like this. And Boston’s rough opening month won’t matter much either if this winning streak keeps climbing.
In Other News...
Celtics Just Passed On A Cheap Trade Chance That Will Frustrate Fans
The latest cost-cutting move around the league put a familiar Celtics front-office dilemma back in the spotlight. Oklahoma Citys three-team deal sent Luguentz Dort to Atlanta, Zaccharie Risacher to Dallas and Ryan Nembhard to the Hawks, while the Thunder came away with three second-round picks and a traded player exception in a financially motivated swap that opened a real window for teams looking for help on the wing.
Boston stayed out of it, and the reason is easy to see even if it is not easy for fans to swallow. The Celtics are barely under the luxury tax and have been trying to keep an eye on the repeater bill, while also carrying a crowded group of young wings that already includes Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman and Ron Harper Jr. For a team trying to balance present value with future flexibility, passing on another rotation-caliber wing was a choice that fit the books, even if it left some obvious talent on the table. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Just Sent A Telling Signal About Jordan Walsh
Jordan Walshs place on the Celtics looks a little more secure after his contract became fully guaranteed on Monday, a small but meaningful signal for a young wing still trying to carve out a long-term role in Boston. Walsh has already logged parts of three NBA seasons, and his recent progress has given the organization something to think about beyond just depth, especially with his improved shooting giving him a more credible path to minutes.
The next question is whether Boston treats that progress as the start of a bigger investment. Walsh is now eligible for a season-long extension worth up to 140% of the average player salary, which puts him on the radar for a possible new deal if the Celtics want to lock him in before the market gets involved. Even so, the wing rotation remains crowded enough that his future still feels fluid, and Boston may have more decisions to make than this one guarantee suggests. [Read more 🡒]
Paul George Could Be Bostons Next Risky Veteran Bet
Bostons interest in Paul George comes with the kind of familiar veteran calculus that has long shaped contender moves: if the body holds up, the fit can still matter in a big way. The conversation around him has even drifted toward the late-career path Paul Pierce took through Boston, Brooklyn and Washington, a reminder that star names can carry different meanings once a player is no longer expected to be the center of everything.
For the Celtics, the appeal is less about a return to peak superstardom than about what George could still supply on the wing in the postseason. He can function as a 3-and-D piece who also has enough shot creation to bail a team out when possessions get tight, but the larger question is how much that kind of value can move the needle if the rest of the roster does not hold up around him. Boston is still trying to make its current approach work under Mazzulla Ball, and George would be only one part of a much bigger equation. [Read more 🡒]