Problem or Solution: Jarren Duran

· Yahoo Sports

The Boston Red Sox are stuck. If you’re the type of person who is content finishing third within the division and being bounced by your arch rivals in just a handful of games in back-to-back seasons, you might disagree. If you’re not an idiot, you know difficult decisions need to be made and that things need to change.

I’ve decided to task myself with analyzing which players can be part of the turnaround and which should be shown the door, all as a way to take the heat off chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. If you’re not down with that, I’ve got two words for ya: Problem or Solution?

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Jarren Duran

It’s time to rip the band-aid off and talk about the most polarizing player in the organization…

Jarren Duran has not-so-slowly devolved from being the heart and soul of the team to dead weight, doing it within three seasons. I’ll go ahead and lay out the numbers for you below, which illustrate just part of the reason we’re even having this conversation…

2024: .285/.342/.492, 21 HR, 75 RBI, 48 2B, 14 3B, 34 SB, 132 OPS+
2025: .256/.332/.442, 16 HR, 84 RBI, 41 2B, 13 3B, 24 SB, 114 OPS+
2026: .208/.207/.361, 20 HR, 69 RBI, 15 2B, 5 3B, 21 SB, 76 OPS+

… with the other reason(s) being his penchant for getting into trouble by flipping off fans, using homophobic slurs, threatening to beat up podcasters, and all sorts of other stuff. I’d like to stick to on-field factors, but it’s kind of impossible with this guy in particular.

WHAT WE KNOW
Duran has worn out his welcome, with all of the things we previously laid out seemingly working together to limit his effectiveness on the field.

Duran still showcased an ability to hit for power and cause havoc on the base paths last season, but the consistency was gone and much of that had to do with the fact that he wasn’t entrusted with a full-time role until Roman Anthony was injured on May 4. I’d imagine they aren’t going to suddenly trust him more after the season he just had season, especially with the organization expected to lean on that trio of Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Wilyer Abreu.

WHAT WE DON’T KNOW
If any of those three players get hurt, which history tells us is just a matter of time, there will be tons of questions surrounding the overall depth of the outfield.

Nate Eaton, Jahmai Jones, and Mickey Gasper were getting significant at-bats down the stretch, dude. I don’t have to tell you how bad that is, so while it hurts me to admit, there is at least a track record to look back at with Duran.

I’d also like to point out the fact that everything we’ve seen from him over the last two seasons, as well as the impending lockout and an expected uneasiness floating over potential player acquisitions this winter, would tell you that it’s going to be nearly impossible to come to a point where you feel like you’re not getting fleeced in a deal where you send the guy away — so long as he can’t be pawned off on an idiotic franchise like the San Diego Padres or Philadelphia Phillies.

BEST-CASE SCENARIOS

WORST-CASE SCENARIO
Breslow doesn’t want to get duped, holds onto the asset, and we do this whole song and dance all over again.

CONCLUSION
It’s addition by subtraction, folks.

The Red Sox need to move on from the player and the person — he’s too much of a headache for the production you’ve gotten since the midway point of last season and there’s little reason to expect that he’ll turn things around as he gets older and starts to wear thin.

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