Jarren Duran keeps ending up in the Red Sox lineup, even as the season has turned into a steady stream of injuries around him.
That’s the strange reality in Boston right now. Duran has taken plenty of heat for his 2026 struggles, with fans and media questioning everything from his production to whether he could even be non-tendered this offseason.
On the surface, that sounds harsh for a player who is likely to reach the 20-20 mark for the second time in three seasons. But the numbers behind the frustration are hard to ignore: he’s barely above the Mendoza Line and sitting at replacement level with 0.0 fWAR.
Still, the injuries have kept opening the door for him.
Roman Anthony, who started the year as Boston’s left fielder on Opening Day, has been sidelined since early May with a hand injury. He’s finally scheduled to start a rehab assignment this week, though he’ll need time to get back up to speed after such a long absence.
Now Masataka Yoshida is out too. He strained his hamstring over the weekend and was placed on the 10-day injured list, another hit to a roster that was supposed to have an outfield logjam but keeps finding itself short-handed. With those absences, Duran is simply in the lineup because the alternatives are thin.
Yoshida’s injury stings in a different way because he had started to settle in as one of Chad Tracy’s preferred leadoff choices. In August, the 33-year-old has put together a .326/.380/.512 line, which comes out to a 137 wRC+ and ranks third on the team among players with at least 50 plate appearances this month.
Taking him out of that spot adds more weight to the nightly workload for hitters like Wilyer Abreu, Willson Contreras, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Caleb Durbin. Yoshida’s calling card - his plate discipline - is something the current roster can’t really replace.
That’s where Duran’s limitations show up again. He has been much better this month than he was earlier in the year, posting a .755 OPS and 101 wRC+, but the strikeouts are still dragging him down.
He’s striking out in nearly 28 percent of his plate appearances, which is why his on-base percentage in August is only .300 and why he’s no longer in the mix to hit leadoff. That’s also why Nick Sogard keeps showing up there so often.
If there’s any consolation, it’s on defense. Duran has been Boston’s best left field defender, with four Outs Above Average and five Defensive Runs Saved there this season.
Put that together with Rafaela and Abreu, and the Red Sox still have the best outfield defense this side of the Chicago Cubs. So even if Duran keeps getting pushed into the lineup by circumstance, he can at least help with the glove when the bat isn’t doing enough.
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