Despite rampant, swirling trade rumors around a few Boston Red Sox outfielders, they plan to enter the 2026 season with at least four on their roster. Wilyer Abreu, Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela are everyday players, while Masataka Yoshida and Kristian Campbell could factor in as depth options (subscription required).
After last season, Duran felt like the odd man out in outfield conversations. He was the most talked about trade candidate on Boston's roster and he posted a down season after his body of work in 2024 earned him MVP votes.
But after just a few spring training games, Duran has shown that he plans to be a fixture of the roster to come. Alex Cora rained praise on the outfielder after Boston's February 22 spring training matchup against the Toronto Blue Jays.
“I know it’s early, but JD seems like a different hitter,” Cora said (via Christopher Smith of MassLive). “Hitting the ball really hard to the pull side. Getting to some pitches that last year probably he didn’t get (to). Expecting a lot of big things from him.”
Jarren Duran's return to 2024 form could make Red Sox DH/outfield decisions even harder
Duran went 2-for-3 with two doubles in his first Grapefruit League outing. He batted third in the lineup while Anthony claimed the leadoff spot Duran used to occupy — an order Cora will likely continue into the coming campaign.
Duran flashed pull-side power against the Jays, hitting his two doubles to right field. He struggled with timing last season, with most of his 41 doubles veering to the left. Duran's one spring training game isn't enough evidence to conclude that he's worked through his prior offensive hangups, but Cora told reporters that he's looked much more on-time throughout the spring.
If Duran is establishing himself as an everyday player again — as he was in 2024 when he posted 8.7 bWAR — the Red Sox may need to use he or Anthony in the DH spot almost every day to field the best possible lineup. That would limit playing time for Yoshida, Campbell and even Triston Casas when he's ready to return to the big league team. This is particularly rough for Yoshida, whom Cora recently described as "one of the best hitters on the team."
It would be worth it to swap Duran and Anthony in the DH spot if they're the best two hitters in the lineup, but Duran isn't known for his ability to hit the ball out of the park, although he's found a home-run swing at certain hot points in his career. If Boston is short on power and using Casas in the DH spot is the best way to get it, it could miss out on offense if Duran or Anthony needs to ride the bench that day. Casas could play first base in that instance, but the Sox would then be missing out on potential power from Willson Contreras.
While the Red Sox's roster construction will be complicated in the lead-up to Opening Day, Duran becoming the best version of himself again can only be a good thing. He was a near-unstoppable offensive force in 2024, and a rebounded Duran would help Boston find some of the offensive consistency and power it missed out on over the 2025 offseason.