The Boston Red Sox have an outfield logjam, and it's becoming increasingly evident that Jarren Duran will most likely be the odd man out.
The 28-year-old arguably has the highest trade value in a group that includes Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela and Rob Refsnyder as the MLB trade deadline approaches. He knows it, too — but he claims he doesn't think about it.
"Honestly, the way I think about it is I have absolutely no say and no control. So why would I even give it two thoughts?" Duran said on a recent episode of the Underdog MLB Section 10 Podcast. "That's the way I think about it."
Well, that's certainly the diplomatic — if not borderline robotic — answer. But Duran sounded a little more human when he elaborated.
"If it happens, I'll probably break down crying having to say goodbye to (Rob) Refsnyder and Trevor Story and the boys," he continued. "That'll happen, but at the end of the day, it's like, I have absolutely no control. The more I feed that into my own brain, the more it's gonna tear me up. So I just don't really think about it. And if it happens, it happens. But at the end of the day, I have no control."
Jarren Duran's days with the Red Sox may be numbered as MLB trade deadline approaches
The Red Sox appear to be spiraling toward a sell-off, and Duran may very well be one of the first to go if they begin to subtract pieces at the trade deadline. ESPN's Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel recently ranked Duran at No. 2 on their list of the top 50 trade deadline candidates, estimating his odds of being traded at a reasonably high 25 percent.
Trading Duran seems like the most obvious way for the Red Sox to clear a path for Roman Anthony, MLB's No. 1 prospect, to settle into an everyday role in left field with Abreu in right and Rafaela in center. In doing so, the Red Sox would essentially be admitting defeat and punting on what has been an incredibly disappointing season up to this point.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has certainly made it clear this season that he's not afraid to make controversial trades (just ask Rafael Devers) so don't be surprised if the Red Sox part ways with another fan favorite slugger as their season continues to unravel.
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