Did Red Sox Just Hint At Jarren Duran Trade Decision?

As the 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline has gotten closer, the two guys on the Boston Red Sox's roster who have been talked about the most are outfielder Jarren Duran and closer Aroldis Chapman.

The outfield clearly is loaded in Boston and is about to get even trickier on Wednesday as Masataka Yoshida returns to the big leagues. Now, the Red Sox have Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Duran, Yoshida, and Rob Refsnyder to work into the mix. There are going to be people disappointed each day because there simply isn't a way to work all of that talent into the lineup each night.

Because of this, Duran has been a popular trade target because he's under team control through the end of the 2028 season and is a dynamic player. He isn't the only one, though. Abreu has also been the subject of trade chatter in the outfield.

Chapman has been speculated about in large part because he is having a dominant season but if the Red Sox aren't in playoff contention, he would be the obvious first guy to go.

The outfield is more pressing right now and it's going to be interesting to see how the team handles the next few weeks before the July 31 deadline. Rafaela is the clear-cut center fielder but the other two spots have moved around but Duran has mainly played in left when he has been in the lineup and Abreu has played right. Anthony has either played right field or has been at DH.

But, with Yoshida coming back into the fold, it was shared on Tuesday that Anthony is getting work in left field and could start to see game action there as soon as Wednesday.

"Cora says Roman Anthony will likely play LF tomorrow. With Yoshida at DH, unclear what they do with Duran in that lineup." MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo said.

It was also shared by MLB.com's Ian Browne that Yoshida will see a lot of time at DH but also will get action in left field.

"Mostly DH," Manager Alex Cora said as transcribed by Browne. "But it's not like last year that he's not going to play the outfield. He's healthy. He's throwing the ball well, and we'll use it to whatever we need that day."

The outfield in general is crowded but now left field is loaded. Is this the first sign of a potential Duran deal, or just the team trying to maximize flexibility?