The Boston Red Sox's outfield logjam is as familiar to fans as any other of the club's roster problems, and it's about time the whole thing goes away. Maybe it will finally happen this winter.
According to a recent report from MLB insider Bob Nightengale, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow is open to moving Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu in a trade, despite what Breslow wants the market to believe.
In the case of Duran, Breslow still has a willing trade partner in the Kansas City Royals, even after they already bolstered their outfield. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the situation on December 15.
"Even after signing free agent Lane Thomas and trading for Isaac Collins, the Kansas City Royals are open to adding another outfielder – most notably Jarren Duran, if the Boston Red Sox lower their asking price," Rosenthal revealed (subscription required).
According to Rosenthal, the Royals assume that Duran would cost them Cole Ragans, which is where the two sides may have stalled their initial discussions. Kansas City believes Ragans is a more valuable player than Duran, hence the hesitation.
The Royals don't seem happy with the idea of a Cole Ragans-Jarren Duran swap
Some Red Sox fans are furrowing their brow at the Royals, whom they feel are falsely inflating Ragans' value as compared with Duran's. Indeed, Duran's had higher WAR over the past two seasons. Still, Duran's drop-off from 2024 to 2025 didn't help his value, and the value of a No. 1 or No. 2 starter in Ragans is hard to best unless you're a perennial All-Star type player in the outfield, which Duran is not.
More realistic Red Sox fans have brainstormed the idea of Boston attaching additional assets to Duran in order to pry away Ragans. This is Breslow's best bet. The Royals aren't in any rush to trade Ragans, and they're certainly not going to do so unless they get what they deem to be an equal or exploitative return.
Kansas City knows that the Red Sox are in a pinch to improve their roster, specifically, their starting rotation. Now that the American League East appears even stronger and defined by more parity than it was in 2025, the Royals can use the AL East's rise as leverage against Boston in Ragans talks. They know how badly Boston could use a guy like Ragans, and it's far more than the Royals could use Duran.
If Breslow wants Ragans in a Duran deal, he's going to have to abandon his even-keeled, every-trade-must-be-fair approach and adopt more of the philosophy akin to Andrew Friedman, who famously said: “If you're always rational about every free agent, you will finish third on every free agent.” Ragans is a trade target, not a free agent, but the same principle applies — if the Red Sox aren't willing to slightly overpay to get him, they're not going to get him.
Despite Breslow's feeble attempt at PR communicating that the Red Sox are completely okay with four starting outfielders, they're not, and this is another area that's subtracted leverage from Breslow's holster in Duran talks.
One of the reason you stockpile prospects and assets is that, every once and a while, you're going to be in a position where you have to slightly overpay to get the guy you want. That time has come for Breslow. If you want Ragans, throw in Duran and pieces, and watch as the Royals' stubborness begins to thaw.