New Jarren Duran Update Doesn't Guarantee Red Sox Trade

If the Red Sox cut ties with Masataka Yoshida and fully open up the designated hitter spot, that at least makes the idea of keeping all of the other outfielders a bit more plausible. But, in the case of a trade itself, Duran is the guy who has been under a microscope the most this offseason. For example, MLB.com's Mark Feinsand listed him as the top potential trade candidate for the organization this offseason. The Athletic's Jim Bowden also weighed in and said Boston will move him "for the right corner infielder or starting pitcher."

ESPN's Jeff Passan didn't make it sound like a guarantee he will be traded, though. He weighed in on a handful of trade candidates by putting them into tiers of "probably-won’t-go," "will-they-be-traded," and "where-will-they-go." Duran fell into the category of "will-they-be-traded."

"Trade options: With a Tarik Skubal deal exceedingly unlikely, the attention will turn to three groups," Passan wrote on Threads. "The probably-won’t-go (Freddy Peralta, Hunter Greene, Byron Buxton, Steven Kwan), the will-they-be-traded (Ketel Marte, Jarren Duran, Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez), and the where-will-they-go (Brendan Donovan, Luis Robert Jr., Jeff McNeil, Nolan Arenado). Plenty more coming Tuesday on this topic at ESPN dot com."

If you're a part of the fanbase hoping Duran doesn't get traded, this obviously doesn't guarantee that. But it's positive that Duran wasn't included in the "where-will-they-go" category. Passan arguably is the top insider in baseball. If he isn't going to list Duran as a guaranteed trade candidate, that has weight to it.

Arguably, it would be the right move to hang onto Duran. That's just one person's opinion, but he adds a lot to the team. Duran finished the 2024 season with 8.7 wins above replacement while filling up the box score all over the place. He finished the campaign with 21 homers, 75 RBIs, 34 stolen bases, 48 doubles, 14 triples, 111 runs scored, and a .285/.342/.492 slash line. Even in a somewhat down 2025 season, he had 4.7 wins above replacement and still had 41 doubles, 13 triples, 16 home runs, 84 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases. He's not a one-dimensional player. He does a bit of everything and is under team control, so the idea of him not being moved should be heavily considered.

Even with a few moves getting done around the league -- like Sonny Gray -- coming over to Boston, this is still the calm before the storm. December is now here and we should see even more movement across the league in the very near future.