Red Sox Doing Jarren Duran Dirty in Contract Negotiations

Thursday marked the deadline for players and teams in the MLB to come to an agreement on their salary figures for next season. The Boston Red Sox had multiple arbitration-eligible players leading up to Thursday and got deals done with Tanner Houck, Garrett Crochet, and Kutter Crawford, who all signed one-year deals. This doesn't preclude the Red Sox from signing them to a longer-term extension.

Unfortunately, however, the Red Sox failed to agree to terms with their most coveted player, who was arbitration-eligible, Jarren Duran.

Duran was arguably the best player on the Red Sox last season, making his first All-Star team and finishing eighth in American League MVP voting. The star outfielder posted a .285/.342/.492 slash line with 111 runs, 24 home runs, and 75 RBIs.

Now, it looks like Duran and the Red Sox may be headed for salary arbitration. Per Chris Cotillo of MassLive, Duran asked for $4 million, and the Red Sox held strong at $3.5 million.

Quibbling over $500,000 with one of your best players after failing to bring in any big-money free agents this winter is certainly frustrating for Red Sox fans.

Barring a surprising development, the sides are headed to an arbitration hearing in late January or early February to determine Duran's salary. Arbitration hearings can turn ugly and open a chasm between players and their teams one side argues why the player isn't worth the salary they are asking for.

The Red Sox hasn't gone to arbitration since Eduardo Rodriguez in 2019. Before then, the most notable example was the situation with Mookie Betts. That process resulted in the eventual trade of Betts to the Dodgers.

There is no indication yet that the Duran situation is headed that way. At the same time, the Red Sox can't afford to antagonize Duran after the season he just had. The next few weeks will be crucial in determining the 28-year-old star's future in Boston.

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