After two seasons that ended in the same Wild Card elimination by the same team in the same stadium, upgrading the offense should be the Boston Red Sox's No. 1 priority. There's so much depth in their lineup that there isn't an exceedingly obvious place to add, but it's long been established that their outfield group needs to be shrunk.
Following a career-worst season during which he was one of the worst qualified hitters in the league, trading Jarren Duran seems like an easy answer. Finding a suitor for him after a severe offensive regression and multiple instances of off-the-field drama won't be easy, however.
But MLB insider Jon Heyman reports there's still interest in Duran from one team — the one we all expect. Heyman said in his Bleacher Report live stream that the San Diego Padres are still interested in the outfielder.
The Friars have long expressed their desire to trade for Duran. They've publicly been the team most interested in dealing for him, though there could be others behind the scenes. San Diego once offered Boston Dylan Cease, top catching prospect Ethan Salas and one other prospect for Duran, which the Red Sox "quickly rejected," according to Sean McAdam of MassLive.
MLB insider Jon Heyman says Padres are still interested in Jarren Duran trade with Red Sox
Cease would've just been a rental, but the Red Sox should've taken that deal. They could've extended Cease, but Duran's value was never going to increase — time is ticking down on his contract and he had never shown that he could maintain the level of offensive production he had in 2024, when he earned the All-Star Game MVP and came in eighth in American League MVP voting.
The Padres are likely to lose outfielders Miguel Andujar, Austin Hays and Ramón Laureano to the free agent market, meaning they could use another body in their pastures. Duran's .207/.266/.361 slash line and 165 strikeouts over 151 games are hardly encouraging, but he's a prime change-of-scenery candidate and he could rebound elsewhere.
Boston must prioritize trading Duran (and Masataka Yoshida) not only to give it lineup flexibility, but to open its designated hitter spot for a power bat rather than maintaining the rotating DH structure that it's gone with in recent years. The Red Sox need their top hitters in the lineup every day, and signing or trading for someone who could swap between DH and left field with Roman Anthony is seemingly the easiest way to add power to the lineup.
Trading Duran is also the optimal outcome this offseason because he's regressed so severely that he could be a non-tender risk. At least trading him to the Padres would net the Red Sox a return, however small.
The Red Sox need to clear their outfield logjam if they're serious about improving their offense. Trading Duran should be the first step to their upswing.
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