Hindsight is 20/20, but Jarren Duran's recent play is proving that the Boston Red Sox may have already made a big mistake by not trading him already.
Duran has long been a top trade candidate for Boston because of the team's logjam in the outfield and inability to actually play good baseball. The Red Sox should be sellers ahead of this year's trade deadline, and moving on from the 29-year-old should be a pretty easy decision to make. He'll likely never repeat his 2024 season, and it makes more sense for the team to just focus on the future.
Even though he had a slow start to the season (.170 BA, 1 HR, 11 RBIs in first 26 games), Duran turned it around in the month of May (.261 BA, 9 HRs, 22 RBIs in 27 games). But instead of selling high on the California native, the Red Sox held on to him, which is starting to look like a big mistake.
Jarren Duran's horrendous June is just part of the trend
Through his first 17 games in June, Duran is batting .159 with two home runs and four RBIs. He also has just one stolen base, has struck out 27 times, and has even dropped to fifth in the Red Sox' lineup.
Duran has gone through his fair share of ups and downs all season long, but it's been mostly bad this season. Outside of his incredible performance in May, he has mostly been a .200 hitter with some pop. He is leaving a lot to be desired at the plate, and it's becoming harder for the Red Sox to justify keeping him around throughout the rest of the season, especially since they're not winning a lot as is.
And none of this is even factoring in Roman Anthony's injury. He's been out of action since May 4 due to a hand/wrist/finger injury, and it still remains to be seen when (if?) he'll make his return this season. But once he does, that's just another reason for the Red Sox to trade Duran, since there won't be as much room for him in the lineup moving forward.
If Boston is still looking to trade the one-time All-Star ahead of this deadline (which it should), then the team better hope he finds his groove again. Because, at this point, it's tough to imagine he's going to have a very robust market.
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