The Boston Red Sox Opening Day roster will feature plenty of new faces. Some will smile all season long. Others will have a scowl by the trade deadline.
The Red Sox aren’t loaded with a ton of depth. Some preseason injuries have opened up some opportunities already for a couple of other guys to contribute from game one onward.
Then there are those who won’t make the Opening Day roster but will still contribute a lot in 2023. It takes more than 26 men to get through a season. We can expect these three to be left off the Opening Day roster but contribute often this year.
1) Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran will find ways to contribute in 2023
Jarren Duran is currently caught between in that space between dreaming and being awake. He is a clear graduate of Triple-A. His major league performance, unfortunately, hasn’t been good enough on a consistent basis for the Red Sox to put much trust in him.
Duran has slashed .219/.269/.354 in his first 335 MLB plate appearances. He was only slightly better last season than he was the year prior in nearly twice as many trips to the plate. Momentum has stalled on his progress. Red Sox fans shouldn’t dismiss him entirely. The ability to play center field cannot be overlooked in any regard.
The Red Sox added Adam Duvall in free agency this offseason to fill in for them at a position Duran could have won last year. Due to a bit of a roster crunch, it looks like Duran may be starting the year in the minors.
It may not last long. Duran has the tools to, at the very least, be a good bench player. He can officially graduate from Triple-A by getting off to a hot start this year. He’ll be Boston-bound soon enough. Hopefully, this time he sticks around.