Jarren Duran continues to be connected to Padres in trade rumors
A year ago at this time, Jarren Duran was getting ready to head to the MLB All-Star Game, where he took home MVP honors. This year, the Red Sox outfielder continues to hear his name mentioned in trade rumors.
In a new column Thursday on , ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan once again connected Duran to the San Diego Padres, a team in desperate need for help in left field.
"No player and team have been linked as strongly as Duran and the Padres -- and that's without any knowledge of how the Red Sox intend to handle the deadline," wrote Passan.
While the Padres have reportedly been interested in Duran going back to last season, it's unclear if the Red Sox are interested in moving him at the moment, given the team's surge into the AL playoff picture. But Passan points to Boston's surfeit of outfielders, which increased with top prospect Roman Anthony shifting from DH to left field with the return of Masataka Yoshida on Wednesday night.
"Roman Anthony's emergence has put Boston in a position to float Duran and Wilyer Abreu in trade discussions, and whether it's now or over the winter, Boston wants to use its surplus of bats to fill voids elsewhere," wrote Passan.
The "voids elsewhere" for Boston center in the rotation and the bullpen, because teams are always on the hunt for more arms. The Padres could potentially dangle 34-year-old closer Robert Suárez, who currently leads baseball with 26 saves this season and has slammed the door on 62 wins going back to last season.
But Boston has the best closer in the AL in Aroldis Chapman. The Red Sox could use bullpen help, but are probably going to want a younger, more controllable arm in return for Duran. Passan believes Padres general manager A.J. Preller could bring in a third team to facilitate a trade for the 28-year-old outfielder.
"San Diego is willing to go places most other organizations would never consider," he wrote.
Red Sox say they don't have to trade an outfielder
He could just be playing the media game, but Boston GM Craig Breslow pushed back on trading an outfielder simply to trade an outfielder .
"It's something that you would have to consider if there was an opportunity to improve the team elsewhere. But I think it's really important to point out that we don't have to trade one of the outfielders simply because we have more guys that are capable of contributing than can start every night," said Breslow.
Breslow did say the team would look for opportunities to add "impact pitching" ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline.
Jarren Duran with the Red Sox
Duran has taken a bit of a step back after his All-Star season in 2024, when he finished eighth in AL MVP voting. Through 93 games this season, Duran is slashing .262/.318/.438 with 24 doubles, an MLB-best 10 triples, eight homers, 50 RBI, and 52 runs scored. He's also 15-for-20 in his stolen base attempts, after successfully swiping 34 of his 41 attempts last season.
But he's really caught fire since the start of July, slashing .367/.387/.767 with four doubles, a triple, and a pair of home runs over eight games. Duran launched a 417-foot homer against the Rockies on Wednesday night, making it back-to-back nights the outfielder has gone yard for Boston.
Duran was in center on Wednesday with Anthony in left and Abreu in right, while Cedanne Rafeala getting the night off.
