The Boston Red Sox entered the season with a "problem" all 29 other MLB teams would have loved to have: They had too many outfielders. Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu and Jarren Duran all deserved regular playing time, but there are only three outfield spots. You'd think that problem could've been resolved via trade, especially considering the needs Boston had elsewhere, but Craig Breslow drove a hard bargain and a deal never materialized.
Flash forward a couple months, and this "problem" has turned into an actual problem based on Tuesday's lineup.
Jarren Duran sits against the right-handed Luis Gil.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) April 21, 2026
Anthony LF, Contreras 1B, Yoshida DH, Abreu RF, Story SS, Rafaela CF, Mayer 2B, Durbin 3B, Narváez C
Duran finds himself on the bench against a right-handed starter. That is a real sentence I have typed out. The left-handed hitter who has historically crushed righties is on the bench against a righty — the worst one in the New York Yankees' rotation in a big game, nonetheless. That speaks to how mightily Duran is struggling right now, and how badly the Red Sox erred in not selling high(er).
Red Sox bench Jarren Duran, and rightfully so
It's hard to argue against Alex Cora's decision when looking at how Duran is playing right now. The outfielder is slashing .164/.243/.254 with just one home run and 10 RBI on the year. Among 179 qualified position players, Duran ranks tied for 171st with a 39 wRC+. For reference, that wRC+ is a few points lower than that of Caleb Durbin and Trevor Story. It's been a slog.
Still, it's very jarring to see Duran on the bench in this spot. Benching him against a lefty is fine — the Red Sox have done this in two of their last three games, and he's always carried pronounced platoon splits even at his best — but Duran has a .826 OPS against righties in his career. You'd think the Red Sox would want that player in there against every righty, even with his slow start; but again, he looks lost at the dish right now.
In addition to Duran struggling, who is he going to take playing time from? Anthony is a cornerstone piece who has been getting on base at will even as he finds his power stroke. Rafaela is arguably the best defensive center fielder in the American League. Abreu has been the team's most consistent hitter all year. Even Masataka Yoshida has been swinging such a good bat that it'd be malpractice to take him out of the lineup against a righty.
The reality is that Duran is the fifth-best player of the five right now. The Red Sox need to do whatever possible to score runs, and are in no position to hope for a turnaround from Duran when they have other quality options. It's hard to imagine he gets better if he doesn't play, but it's also hard to make the argument that he should be playing. The situation is bad all around, and unfortunately, there's no easy way out.
Red Sox have no easy way out of Jarren Duran situation
Duran isn't good enough to play right now, and it's not like that'll change anytime soon. None of their other outfielders should be benched under really any circumstances, and while Yoshida has his faults, he's always hit right-handed pitching well. Duran has never hit lefties particularly well, and that fact has held true this season.
The Red Sox could trade him now, but for what? Why would teams be willing to give them anything close to good value as he continues to struggle and/or ride the bench? Boston could keep him, but is it worth doing that when he can net them a player who can help elsewhere?
They're in an uncomfortable spot with Duran right now, and I'm not sure what the best path forward is. What I do know is that this situation was entirely avoidable.
Red Sox had a chance to trade Jarren Duran before things got to this point
Duran was talked about as much as anybody in the offseason as a potential trade candidate, and for obvious reasons. He was seen as the most movable of anyone in the outfield logjam, and could have netted the Red Sox a player at a position that could help them a ton in 2026 and beyond.
Instead of trading him when there was a ton of interest, though, Craig Breslow held a very high price tag on the outfielder — who, mind you, was coming off a down year in 2025 — and wound up keeping him when said price wasn't met. I don't blame Breslow for asking for an ace in Duran talks, but when that price wasn't going to be met, why didn't he pivot?
I'm not saying they should've traded Duran for scraps, but there's every reason to believe Boston could've gotten a mid-rotation arm or an every-day infielder for him. Holding out for only the best possible offer when it was unlikely to come Boston's way never made much sense when they were the team with the logjam.
And now the Red Sox are stuck with an asset at his lowest possible value and with no real path to consistent playing time to improve said value. It's a bad spot, and again, one that could have, and should have, been avoided.
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