Jarren Duran might be turning things around at the plate for the Boston Red Sox, who could use any offensive production they can get these days. Duran still has bad numbers on the season (.197 batting average entering Friday), but he looked like an All-Star again during the New York Yankees series, going 4-for-9 with two doubles off the Green Monster against lefty ace Max Fried, who was unhittable against every other Red Sox batter.
When Duran is at his best and most comfortable at the plate, he's able to drive the ball to the opposite field, which is exactly what he did twice against Fried. And here's the kicker: Duran's success against Fried and the Yankees may have been the result of a mechanical adjustment he made during the week that saw Duran change his stance and leg kick.
Following Duran's two doubles off Fried, he collected a third base knock off Brent Headrick, another lefty, finishing the night with three of Boston's five hits.
Jarren Duran adjusted his stance and leg kick, and positive results immediately followed for Red Sox
Pretty sure Duran changed his stance from 4 days ago pic.twitter.com/Jg3HMqR2Xi
— Justin (@JustinMLB) April 22, 2026
With no one hitting consistently this season other than Wilyer Abreu, Willson Contreras, and Ceddanne Rafaela, and with an MLB-low 14 home runs as a team, the Red Sox badly need Duran to return to his 2024 form, in which he tallied an .834 OPS, hit 21 homers, and finished No. 8 in American League MVP voting.
Duran's bat looked powerful in spring training, as well as in the World Baseball Classic, and fans were convinced that a big year was on the way. He was 12-for-22 across both spring games and the WBC with six homers and a galactic 2.130 OPS.
But Duran started the regular season ice-cold for the Red Sox, going 6-for-37 with zero homers in the first 10 games, eight of which Boston lost. Impatient/disgruntled Red Sox fans brought back out their "Trade Duran" narratives on social media. His controversial dealings with fans during games became something to complain about again (no one ever seems to care when Duran is raking). Maybe 2024 was just an outlier year for Duran that would never be repeated, many wondered once again.
The Red Sox can't afford for Jarren Duran not to have another career year
Duran's not out of the woods from any of the above. One good series doesn't fix his poor season so far. But the fact that he made mechanical adjustments and immediately saw results is only a good sign.
And while desperation is a strong word, that's exactly what the Red Sox offense is experiencing right now. Fans expected the team to be mediocre offensively, but this? This type of no-show production on a night-by-night basis puts Boston in danger of finishing last in the American League East if people don't start hitting.
As a 29-year-old veteran on a team full of youth, Duran will be looked to for sturdy production to help steer Boston out of this rut. It needs to start now, and, conveniently, Duran might have just unlocked his bat.
Add us as a preferred source on Google