With the Winter Meetings approaching, many players, including free agents, remain question marks concerning where they'll end up for the foreseeable future. Sonny Gray has his answer: he'll be a Boston Red Sox for, at least, the 2026 season. The rumor circles are swirling heavily now, increasing their focus on that logjam in the outfield.
How they would solve it is one particular issue entirely. Many want him to be traded for a secondary starter, and the most recent rumors from the Boston Globe declare that he could be in an offer for Kansas City starter Cole Ragans. Others still want him in a deal for Minnesota's All-Star starter Joe Ryan, even though the Twins wanted him or Wilyer Abreu back at the deadline in July, but were rejected by Boston. However, things were different then. The Red Sox were looking to add for a playoff push. Now with the season over, they could most likely swing a deal with Duran as a headliner.
Boston could also be done with their approach to acquiring pitching help, and could be targeting the likes of Ketel Marte. That is a big step toward adding the "big bat" that they desperately needed in 2025. Rumors are swirling in that area, too.
Regardless of where he's headed, it's important to note how the Red Sox value him. Jeff Passan on ESPN stated that Boston is treating him like the 7.0 WAR player that he was in 2024. This is incredibly risky because some teams won't take the bait due to his 4.0 WAR performance this past season. While that is still very good, it doesn't justify ace-level trade value. If the Red Sox dig in too hard, they could price themselves out of meaningful pitching upgrades.
Which is why Boston must approach this decisively. Whether they ultimately land Ragans, Ryan, or another pitcher entirely, the truth is unavoidable. Jarren Duran needs to be on the trade block. His value is still strong, and his presence in an overcrowded outfield will only complicate the roster further.
The Red Sox cannot enter the Winter Meetings with this amount of pressure on their shoulders. They can't be paralyzed by this indecisiveness that has haunted them for the past two seasons. Moving Duran now is the clearest path to unlocking the type of rotation upgrade this team has needed for years, and the path they must take before the market accelerates without him.