Boston Red Sox: The time to call up Jarren Duran is now
By Max Bozicas
These aren’t exactly desperate times for the Boston Red Sox, but could promoting Jarren Duran to the major league roster really be considered a desperate measure?
Duran, 24, is an outfielder who stands at 6’2″ and weighs 200 pounds. He was drafted by the Red Sox in the seventh round of the 2018 MLB Draft.
Duran has played extremely well this season as one of the most exciting prospects in the Red Sox farm system and has done enough to earn a shot in the big leagues. In 34 games of AAA ball in Worcester this season, Duran currently sports a .294/.382/.615 line with 13 home runs and 26 RBI.
The third outfield spot on the Red Sox has been a revolving door of mediocrity between Enrique Hernandez, Marwin Gonzalez, and Danny Santana, all of whom have generally poor numbers across the board.
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Even if Duran isn’t guaranteed to be an improvement of that right off the bat, it’s still valuable to give him major league experience and his upside is certainly higher than the previously mentioned players due to his impressive combination of power and speed.
Does Jarren Duran make the Boston Red Sox a championship threat?
Unless there are changes made via trade or call-ups, the Boston Red Sox are what they are (which is a very good baseball team.) With that said there are a few moves that can be executed to really bolster their chances to become a serious World Series contender. Promoting Duran is more of a wildcard than a sure thing, but it’s not like there’s anyone at the back of the order who is irreplaceable.
One could argue that Duran has fast-tracked his way to this point since he’s only played two-and-a-half years in the minor leagues, but does it really matter if he’s dominated at each level he’s been at so far? While he may not come out and do the same things against major league pitching right away, it could be almost equally as bad for his development if he continues to play against subpar competition as it is for him to get “rushed” to the show.
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There’s no sense in sugarcoating it; Jarren Duran could be a superstar for the Boston Red Sox. While they probably need to add to their starting rotation more so than their lineup, there is always room to improve and Duran at this point is more likely to be an upgrade than a downgrade for the Red Sox offense.