Reaction to Jarren Duran trade rumors!
The San Diego Padres are expressing interest in Jarren Duran! Will more suitors come calling?
By Terry Cushman Jr
THE PLAYER
There have been only four bonafide lead off hitters for the Boston Red Sox in the 21st century. Those players are: Johnny Damon, Jacoby Ellsbury, Mookie Betts, and finally, the current leadoff hitter, Jarren Duran.
Interestingly, three of those hitters were lefties. All but Betts. Three of those hitters were homegrown. All but Damon. And three of those hitters won rings. All but Duran.
It’s not a role on a team that is easy to fill. Several players have tried and failed over the years. Most recently Alex Verdugo and Kike Hernandez. Not to mention the Red Sox would not have a clear solution in place of Duran should he be shipped off to another team.
Another thing that essentially makes the current Boston leftfielder a unicorn, is that he is the only homegrown lefthanded hitter in the Bloom/Breslow/Cora era that can hit lefties. Does he crush them? No. But he does hit a serviceable .243/.291.
No other player on the roster can impact a game from the batter’s box, base path, and their defensive position like Duran.
THE OPTICS
Duran was never supposed to have a future with the Red Sox. He was a slappy contact hitter in the minors, with suspect defense, and only hit eight home runs in his first two seasons combined.
In 2021 he hit a power surge and slugged 16 home runs in the first few months. This earned him a call up that summer. But he only hit two home runs, and struck out 40 times in 107 at bats. Simply didn’t live up to the hype.
In 2022, he didn’t fare a whole lot better. Batted .215/.283 with only three home runs. And then a -0.8 defensive war. There was no reason to suggest he was ever going to be an average to above average major league ballplayer.
In 2023, Masataka Yoshida was all the rage. He showed up in the United States on the hype of a high average, high onbase, and above average power. Veteran slugger Adam Duvall had signed a one year deal. Alex Verdugo was hoping to continue his upward trajectory through the majors. And then Adam Duvall broke his wrist.
Duran was given another opportunity despite low expectations. Except this time, he blew them high up out of the water.
In just 102 games, his strikeout rate was cut down to 27%. Hit 34 doubles, stole 24 bags, batted .285, and was suddenly on base machine at .346.
In 2024 the ceiling just continued to elevate in a massive way. Hit similar slashlines, but this time he led all of MLB in doubles with 48, and a mindboggling 14 triples, which also led the league. As well as a significant uptick in home runs at 21.
How many players in Red Sox history had low expectations through the minors, failed miserably in his first few call ups, and then suddenly broke out into being a perennial all star?
So many players year after year will generate a little bit of hype. Fans will hope they become the next (insert players name here). But as best as my memory serves me, nobody has forged a path out of nothing, quite like Jarren Duran.
In every day life, as human beings, as Americans, we live in a tough ecconomy. As well as a society fraught with mental health issues. Some of us have been denied opportunities, and some of us have simply not made the most of the opportunities we had.
All of these circumstances have been the kid from Corona, California at some point or another. He is perhaps the most relatable player of any one currently listed on the Red Sox roster.
When the new city connect jerseys rolled out, in a mere matter of hours, Duran’s #16 jersey sold out the fastest. He is by far the most popular player in the Red Sox clubhouse.
And by the way, which other players are selling jerseys? Mayer and Campbell might be cool and trendy at the moment. But arguably only Raffy Devers and Garrett Crochet are generating massive sales.
No player is as dymanic as Duran. How do you look the fanbase in the face and tell them “We’re better off without having this 28 year old perennial all-star in our organization?”
Craig Breslow
The scariest aspect of a possible Jarren Duran trade is that the Chief Baseball Officer, Craig Breslow, will be the person who executes that trade.
Arguably Breslow has done everything imaginable to hold this Red Sox team back during this 2025 season. They are currently three games below .500, and the #1 prospect in all of MLB is rotting down in Worcester, while guys like Nate Eaton, Nick Sogard, and Abraham Toro are all getting shots at the big leagues, and have collective made a very minimal impact.
Even more unsettling, the top Red Sox executive by all outward appearances is not currently on speaking terms with his franchise player. Principal owner John Henry even had to fly halfway across the country to Kansas City for some emergency damage control.
Breslow’s tenture in the Boston front office has largely been a failure. His acquisition of Vaughn Grissom in the Chris Sale trade has been an epic disaster.
Last summer at the trade deadline, he made a feeble attempt to improve their chances of making the playoffs with acquisitions of Danny Jansen, Lucas Sims, Luis Garcia, and especially James Paxton were all epic fails. Quinn Preister now pitches for the Brewers.
Outside of the Garrett Crochet trade, his record in those types of transactions has been extremely poor. Worse than even Chaim Bloom, and that’s the lowest bar imaginable.
Perhaps one of the reasons Breslow isn’t motivated to make a move, is possibly because he is afraid of making his record worse? As outlined in this section, he has never demonstrated ability to effectively solve problems or address needs during the season.
The extension of Ceddanne Rafaela was a bit of a head scratcher to most of the Bastards of Boston. Has he been awful? No. But has he been replaceable? Absolutely.
It’s far too early to render any type of verdict on the Kristian Campbell extension. His lack of ability to make adjustments has been very concerning. Aside from good bat speed, a low chase rate, and the ability to draw walks, he is below average by most metrics in a short sample size.
Changing the coaching staff wouldn’t make a ton of sense to a Yale grad either, right?
CONCLUSION
Craig Breslow is public enemy #1 among Red Sox fans, and possibly his own players. The last thing the Red Sox needs, and the last thing ownership needs is a Mookie 2.0 trade.
You can’t trade Jarren Duran.
I was a pro Duran trade guy all winter and nothing has changed that for me. He’s the outfield piece, really the whole lineup piece, that makes sense to trade.
Outfield is there only area of true depth. Durans game isn’t going to age well as his speed declines. He’s got slightly better than average instincts defensively and on the base paths but nothing that sets him apart besides his speed.
He’s currently desirable to other teams both because of what he did the last two years (though this year he’s still on shaky ground) and because he’s still got arb years. It won’t take much for people to lose interest in him.
They have no other players that are blocking talent that are desirable. No one wants Story, Yoshida (not blocking talent but an obvious trade candidate), Abreu nor Rafaella.
And let’s be real, Duran offensively is only a candle compared to those leadoff hitters you mentioned. His plate discipline isn’t inline, his OBP isn’t inline and neither is his average. The only thing he has a strong comparison to them is his speed.
Now I do agree that Breslow probably can’t handle getting the right return for him. Every move except acquiring Narvaez was blundered. Yes, including the Crochet deal. I simply dont believe they couldn’t have gotten that deal done without Teel. But shit, I feel like the Bastards and the majority of Red Sox Nation were circle jerking for Breslow all winter.
Ultimately hard decisions have to be made to unfuck this roster. Duran is definitely expendable and he’s desirable to other teams. Outside of Mayer and Anthony, the Sox don’t have anyone that’s immediately desirable other than Duran who has 1-2 seasons of impact remaining in his career.