Red Sox should give Jarren Duran another chance
It didn’t take a genius to see that Jackie Bradley Jr. was going to struggle this year. Bradley was arguably the worst hitter in baseball last year, ranking in the first percentile in many batted ball metrics, and he’s been nearly as bad this year. The 32-year-old is slashing .200/.267/.309 with one home runs and just 14 RBIs, and while he still rates above-average defensively, it’s not nearly enough to make up for such anemic hitting.
Fortunately for the Red Sox, they have a ready-made replacement in Triple-A in the form of Jarren Duran. The 25-year-old Duran has been tearing apart the International League, slashing .330/.402/.540 with three home runs and 10 stolen bases. He’s also cut down significantly on his strikeouts, a major part of his downfall during his 2021 call-up. Duran has played just one game at the Major League level this season but made an immediate impact, reaching base twice and hitting one of the Red Sox’s three triples on the season.
Duran’s energy and speed would provide an immediate boost to what has been a sluggish, station-to-station attack by the Red Sox this season. The Red Sox rank 27th in baseball in stolen bases, and Duran’s Triple-A total (in just 25 games) is more than the entire major league combined.
Bradley Jr. has the edge on defense, but he can’t come close to the Duran’s production on offense or on the bases. The Red Sox could still use a spark, and Duran, who proclaimed he plays with his “hair on fire”, is the perfect match.