Red Sox: 3 players who deserve MLB playing time over Jarren Duran

3. Franchy Cordero should be getting playing time over Red Sox CF Jarren Duran.

Red Sox fans can understand why Franchy Cordero was optioned back to Triple-A. He hasn’t really produced in the majors this season, and after Boston acquired both Eric Hosmer and Tommy Pham at the trade deadline, Cordero’s playing time was sure to be impacted.

But Cordero has proven about all he can in the minor leagues. The 27-year-old has an OPS of .930 for the Worcester Red Sox in 23 games at Triple-A this season. He has a .310 batting average and 12 extra base hits in 87 at-bats.

But, in the big leagues, Cordero has struggled to find his footing. Hitting just .219 isn’t going to cut it if your primary position is first base or the corner outfield. The power is there, there’s no question about that. But there’s a lot of swing and miss in Cordero’s game as well.

According to FanGraphs, Cordero has a strikeout-rate north of 30% in his first two seasons with the Red Sox. But with Cordero up for arbitration this season, a longer look over the final two months may be in order to see if there’s value in keeping him on the 40-man roster.

Jarren Duran has just not been good this season. His defense has been poor, his on-base percentage is below .300, and a 27.4% strikeout-rate isn’t going to cut the mustard in the big leagues unless you’re good for 25-plus home runs per season. It’s time to consider giving his playing time to others in the organization.