Could Jarren Duran end up being the odd man out on the Red Sox?
"[Alex Cora] has a plan and I trust him full tilt."
COMMENTARY
Jarren Duran has said all of the right things over the last week.
In what has been an up-and-down season for the Red Sox outfielder, Tuesday marked one of his stronger performances. The fleet-footed Duran knocked in two runs in the victory — headlined by a 456-foot solo shot in the seventh inning that stands as the longest homer by a Sox hitter in 2025.
He was at it again during Wednesday’s 10-2 win over Colorado — slugging a three-run homer in the eighth inning.
But for his efforts, Duran’s spot in Boston’s lineup is far from a guarantee moving forward.
After appearing in 160 of Boston’s 161 games last season in a breakout year, Duran has already sat out three times in 2025 — including Monday’s series opener against Colorado.
It’s far from a punitive measure by Alex Cora and the Red Sox.
Rather, it’s just the reality facing a Red Sox team with plenty of talent across the outfield — and only so many spots available to plug those players into the lineup.
“[Alex Cora] has a plan and I trust him full tilt,” Duran said Tuesday, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “Whatever he needs me to do, I’m gonna do. He let me have a little bit of [Monday] off then I came in and pinch-hit and it worked out. He’s a good manager, he’s been doing it and I trust him with whatever we need to do for the team.”
Boston’s ongoing roster logjam reached a critical inflection point on Wednesday.
With Masataka Yoshida making his return to the lineup (collecting three hits against Colorado) and expected to earn the lion’s share of reps at DH against righties moving forward — the DH spot that Cora has used to cycle players through this crowded outfield is likely no longer viable.
On Tuesday, Cora brushed aside talk of the headaches involved with ensuring that Boston is routinely rolling out the best possible lineup, night in and night out.
“It’s not difficult. It’s good to have a lot of good players on the same roster,” Cora said, per The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. “We’re going to be able to rest some guys and to match up later in games with guys that are everyday players, not starting certain days. And I think that’s going to work to our advantage.”
Despite Cora’s confident declaration, the math just doesn’t work right now for the Red Sox, who are seemingly destined to sit out at least one dynamic player on most nights now that Yoshida is cleared for game action.
The Red Sox have made a concerted effort toward carving out regular reps for rookie Roman Anthony moving forward, especially with the No. 1 prospect in baseball now batting .383 with six extra-base hits and seven RBI over his last 11 games.
After primarily playing in right field since arriving in the big leagues, Anthony earned his first start in left field at Fenway Park on Wednesday — taking over the spot that has primarily been held by Duran in 2025.
“This kid is becoming a force for us,” Cora said of Anthony on “WEEI Afternoons” on Wednesday. “And I was kind of stupid pinch hitting [for] him in his first big league start. We’re not doing that anymore. Now he’s hitting second, he’s hitting third, he’s playing good defense in right field.
“Tonight he’s going to play left field. And we keep challenging him. He’s a big part of what we’re trying to accomplish now and in the future. And we’re very happy with the progress.”
Since trudging through a slow start, Ceddanne Rafaela is cementing his status as Boston’s everyday center fielder.
The 24-year-old already offers plenty of value to Boston with his elite defense, but he’s also turned the corner and is developing into a potent hitter, batting .321 with 10 home runs, 22 RBIs, and 22 runs scored over his last 36 games.
That leaves Duran to fight for a spot in right field with Wilyer Abreu — who took home a Gold Glove in right field last season and is leading AL right fielders again in 2025 with four outs above average.
Beyond Abreu’s own defensive talents in right, the 26-year-old outfielder is another productive player at the plate (18 home runs, 52 RBI over 80 games) who will not hit free agency until 2029.
Something’s got to give for Boston.
On Wednesday, Rafaela was the odd man out of Boston’s lineup — robbing Boston of arguably its hottest hitter over the last month and taking a Gold-Glove talent out of center field.
Removing Rafaela against a tomato can like the Rockies didn’t shift Boston’s fortunes on a night where Boston’s lineup teed off against pitching. But it’s far from an ideal situation for both player and team moving forward.
“I know he’s swinging the bat well,” Cora said of Rafaela on Wednesday, per MassLive’s Chris Smith. “One day on the bench isn’t going to stop him from hitting. Actually avoid him getting tired. So he’ll be ready for tomorrow. We’ll use him as a defensive replacement or pinch hitting today.
“But that’s the way we’re going to do it. There’s certain days one of the lefties isn’t going to start against a righty, (then) help us late in games. Everybody’s on board. Everybody understands what we’re all about, what we’re trying to accomplish. And there’s no complaints.”
The Red Sox might be able to keep this carousel going for a short time now that Yoshida is back and stepping in as the team’s go-to DH.
But sooner or later, a decision is going to have to be made in order to solidify Boston’s lineup.
Even though Duran still offers value given his dynamic play style and his favorable contract (under team control through 2028), the veteran stands as the most logical trade chip Boston has in order to gain some much-needed roster flexibility.
“It’s something we have to think about,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow told Speier on NESN’s “310 to Left” podcast. “You never want to be in a position where you have to make a trade, and there’s this very fine line between having the problem of an overcrowded roster and having enough depth to weather injuries and keep guys off their feet.
“I think there potentially could be some opportunities to make what I think people would call just like baseball trades, where you’re using depth in one area to address a need in another. And I think we’ll be very open-minded about those things, but I don’t think we’re in a position where we have to make a trade.”
As painful as it might be to deal away a spark plug like Duran on a team trying to orchestrate a second-half push for the playoffs, his evident tools and contract could still make him a valuable trade chip if Breslow and Co are looking to augment this roster on the fly.
Dealing Duran alone may not be enough to add an impact player elsewhere across the roster, but he could headline a package that could help Boston land a No. 2 starter like Joe Ryan before the trade deadline.
Whatever Breslow charts moving forward, one thing remains clear.
The Red Sox’s current roster configuration isn’t sustainable moving forward.
And if Boston does need to subtract from this roster, the choice — as painful as it might be — seems rather obvious.
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