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What Can Red Sox Even Do With Spiraling Jarren Duran?
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The enigmatic leftfielder hasn't hit in almost two years. He isn't getting on base, which means he's not stealing bases. And no matter what elaborate statistics anyone might pull up, he's a middling defensive outfielder at best.
The Boston Red Sox always believed they could extract something of value out of the high-strung, high-maintenance, high-energy outfielder. In their failure to recognize the warning signs, they're now stuck with a player who risks becoming the face of the franchise in all the wrong ways.
And there might not be anything the Red Sox can do about it anymore.
Duran's spiraling season reached another nadir Thursday when he was caught on camera gesticulating at either teammate Willson Contreras or third base coach Chad Epperson. Apparently, Duran felt Contreras should have scored from third base on Duran's shallow fly to left field. Duran's hissy fit continued into the dugout, where he threw an iPad, according to WEEI-FM radio announcer Will Flemming. The longtime play-by-play broadcaster lamented, "That is such a tired act."
Although the interaction looked ugly on the field, Duran was contrite after the game.
"That's nothing," Duran told reporters, as seen in a video posted to X by Tyler Milliken of the "Section 10 Podcast." "That's something within the team that we work on. It's nothing. You guys don't need to know. Nobody needs to know. That's something between us and the team. We know what it's about. So it doesn't really matter."
Unfortunately for Duran, he's very wrong. Duran doesn't get to decide what matters and what doesn't. He doesn't get to declare what the fans who pay to watch him play deserve to know. They deserve to know whatever they want about what he does in his very public, very visible, very lucrative place of work. That's part of the price that comes with his $7.7 million salary.
The thing is, it was clear to anyone paying attention years ago that this thing would end poorly. As far back as 2022, when he lost a ball and then didn't bother to go after it , allowing Raimel Tapia to score an inside-the-park grand slam, something was obviously off — and we don't mean his admirable candor about his mental health. We're purely talking baseball. His approach to the game isn't quite right, even when things are going well. Not even his MLB All-Star MVP campaign of 2024 was without one of his patented miniature controversies .
The Red Sox ignored the signs, and now they're out of options. Duran can't be allowed to remain on this team, not after they banished Rafael Devers last year for his positional insubordination. Every minute he remains on the roster is an affront to Contreras, the team's best player, and Epperson, a member of its coaching staff.
The arguments for keeping him have always been linked to his contract control. At 29, he still isn't eligible for free agency for another two seasons after this one. For that reason, the Red Sox were loathe to trade him because any production he supplied had added value. Yet they underestimated the trade-offs and overestimated how meaningful that production would be.
Contreras clearly wasn't happy with Duran, as seen in dugout footage immediately afterward, but the often hot-headed Contreras handled the incident diplomatically in the moment and afterward.
“I love Jarren. He’s one of the guys that plays with emotion, plays 100%," Contreras told reporters, as transcribed by MassLive's Christopher Smith. "We love him here. And he’s one of the guys that if I need to go to war, I’m gonna pick him because he’s gonna give his 100%. I saw him doing some stuff. I would never take that personal. I love the guy, and we need the guy here. We need his energy. And I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him yet, but it’s nothing personal.”
Despite what Contreras might believe, the Red Sox don't need Duran's energy. Not if it's negative energy. Not if it's going to be like this. They can't do this anymore.
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