Jarren Duran is going to be a main topic of the Red Sox offseason the same way it was at the trade deadline and the offseason before that. The 30-year-old outfielder quickly became the bottom rung on the Red Sox outfield ladder this season after being the second-worst qualified hitter by WRC+ in 2026.
It's a self-created problem by Craig Breslow, who continuously deferred the decision to trade him, to the point where he has almost no trade value. Now the Red Sox find themselves in a pivotal offseason, but are dealing with an expensive roster and limited spots to make moves.
Fans know that trading Duran is the perfect way to clear up money and space, but, as USA Today's Bob Nightengale put it, that option is going to be hard to make a reality. In his most recent piece, Nightengale listed Duran as one of the top trade candidates of the winter, but the way he wrote it won't give fans much hope.
“They don’t want to pay a projected $11 million in salary arbitration for a player who may be a fourth outfielder, at best," he wrote. That sentiment isn't going to be what makes most teams want to acquire Duran, but it's one that most teams will agree with.
What options do the Red Sox have left with Jarren Duran?
“They don’t want to pay a projected $11 million in salary arbitration for a player who may be a fourth outfielder, at best. He should be as good as gone.”
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) November 9, 2026
- @BNightengale on the Red Sox and Jarren Duran pic.twitter.com/9weOrg4vAR
In 2024, Duran looked like a perennial All-Star and possible MVP candidate; he posted a better bWAR than NL MVP winner Ronald Acuna Jr. that season. Two years later, his play at the plate suggests he shouldn't be an everyday starter. Because of that, no team is going to want to take on an $11 million salary.
And if the Sox have no desire to eat any money should he be tendered a contract and traded. it's likely the they will have to end up sending a prospect with Duran to get another team to take him.
The Red Sox could just non-tender Duran, but that could be the option that possibly hurts them the most. Duran still has that 2024 form in him; he showed flashes this season it this season. Letting him go for nothing just to clear up money and a roster spot would be a pretty bad idea ... but it also might be the option Breslow has to take if things get bleak.
The situation will be extremely hard to navigate for Breslow, who also has the added time clock of the impending lockout to try to get this done. It's a self-made problem, though. Duran is one of the biggest change-of-scenery candidates in baseball this offseason, and that's hard to balance for a front office. Breslow is going to need to find a solution, though, because they can't carry four starting outfielders into the 2027 season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google