The Red Sox have spent two straight seasons running into the same postseason wall, and the offense now has to be the focus. Boston has plenty of depth in the lineup, but the outfield is overcrowded, and that makes Jarren Duran the obvious name to watch.
After a season that qualified as a career worst, Duran is no longer the easy-building-block type he looked like in 2024. That year brought an All-Star Game MVP award and an eighth-place finish in American League MVP voting, but this past season was a major step back.
Over 151 games, he hit .207/.266/.361 and struck out 165 times. Add in multiple off-the-field issues, and the case for moving him only gets stronger.
There may finally be a real landing spot. MLB insider Jon Heyman said in his Bleacher Report live stream that the San Diego Padres are still interested in Duran, and the fit makes sense. San Diego has been connected to him for a while and has been the club most publicly linked to a possible deal.
The Padres already made a serious push once. According to Sean McAdam of MassLive, they offered Boston Dylan Cease, top catching prospect Ethan Salas and one other prospect for Duran, and the Red Sox “quickly rejected” it. Cease would have been a rental, but Boston passed on what looks like a strong return for a player whose value has been sliding.
San Diego may need help in the outfield soon, too. Miguel Andujar, Austin Hays and Ramón Laureano are all likely to hit free agency, leaving a gap the Padres could try to fill with Duran. Even with his rough 2025 line, he still profiles as a change-of-scenery candidate who could bounce back somewhere else.
For Boston, the bigger picture matters. Trading Duran, along with Masataka Yoshida, would give the Red Sox more lineup flexibility and help open the designated hitter spot for a power bat instead of continuing the rotating DH setup they have leaned on in recent years. The goal is simple: keep the best hitters in the lineup every day, and find a player who can move between DH and left field with Roman Anthony if needed.
There’s also the cold business side of it. Duran’s decline has been so sharp that a non-tender would not be out of the question. Moving him now, even for a modest return, would at least let Boston recoup something.
If the Red Sox are serious about clearing the logjam and upgrading the offense, Duran is the place to start.
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