Red Sox, Jarren Duran Seemingly Nearing Breaking Point

Sep 7, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Red Sox, Jarren Duran Seemingly Nearing Breaking Point

Originally posted on Boston Red Sox on SI
By Jackson Roberts | Last updated Apr 21, 2026 5:00 PM ET

Add us as a preferred source on Google

The thought of Jarren Duran being benched against a right-handed pitcher would have been unfathomable last year, let alone in 2024. Now, it's becoming a somewhat regular occurrence.

On Tuesday, the Boston Red Sox will face off with the New York Yankees and righty Luis Gil in the first of 13 matchups with their archrivals this season. Duran, who nearly reached five wins above replacement last season after notching nine and receiving Most Valuable Player votes in 2024, will be on the bench.

Duran's fit with the Red Sox has been in question for a while now, but things seem to be changing early in the new season. Rather than refusing to trade him unless he's bringing back a massive haul, the Red Sox might have to start thinking about whether he needs to be moved simply to clear up an untenable logjam.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Is Duran falling out of favor in Boston?

Duran was on the bench against two other righties earlier this season -- the Houston Astros' Hunter Brown and the Milwaukee Brewers' Brandon Woodruff. He's routinely been benched against lefties, which used to happen to Wilyer Abreu rather than Duran.

In his 17 games thus far (remember, the Red Sox have played 22), Duran is flopping to the tune of a .164 batting average, .497 OPS, and 43 OPS+. He has only four extra-base hits on the season, and his .253 on-base percentage is limiting the amount of chaos he can cause with his speed.

A lack of consistent playing time shouldn't absolve Duran of his struggles entirely, but it's hard not to think that he would have found a groove by now if he were still an everyday starter, as he was for the past two seasons.

There is a contingent of Red Sox Nation that loves Duran, and another contingent that has wanted him gone for a long time. Many of those opinions have been formed due to Duran's actions that weren't strictly baseball related, but the matter at hand now has very little to do with that.

The rub is this: The Red Sox can't afford to keep Duran on the bench much longer and preserve any of his trade value, and it's a risky game to play to wait for an injury to happen to open up more consistent at-bats. Either Duran needs to heat up and take over his at-bats that are going to Masataka Yoshida right now, or Boston has to finally make a move it's seemingly been dreading.

This article first appeared on Boston Red Sox on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: