Getting Mastaka Yoshida back into the Boston Red Sox lineup is a net positive. The Japanese veteran will make his season debut on Wednesday against the Rockies after completing his rehab assignment in the minors. Expected to largely contribute as a designated hitter, he's another offensive boost for a team that's woken up with the bats of late. At the same time, however, his return and the subsequent lineup shuffling essentially confirm that Jarren Duran will be traded from the Red Sox before the July 31 MLB trade deadline.
The Red Sox lineup against Colorado on Wednesday was released and, with Yoshida's return and starting as the DH, Duran was moved to centerfield with Wilyer Abreu in right field and top prospect Roman Anthony in left field. However, that means that Ceddanne Rafaela, one of the hottest hitters in all of baseball right now, was given the day off.
Tonight Rafaela will be out of the lineup. Anthony in LF, Duran in CF, Yoshida DH, per Alex Cora in his weekly segment with WEEI.
— Ian Browne (@IanMBrowne) July 9, 2025
To be clear, there isn't a world where Cora and the Red Sox aren't shuffling the outfield rotation. Rob Refsnyder is going to play right field or DH against left-handed starters. Virtually everyone other than Rafaela is going to rotate positionally between the corner outfield spots and DH. And on top of that, there is certainly truth in the idea that depth is never a bad thing.
What Boston is currently dealing with, however, isn't depth — it's a surplus leading to a logjam. And that's ultimately why Duran is the likeliest option to get pushed out.
Jarren Duran trade is the end result of the Red Sox lineup crunch in outfield
The truth of the matter is that the outfield/DH group is just too crowded. Wednesday's lineup is the perfect example. It's fully understandable for Cora to want Anthony, Duran, Abreu and Yoshida in the lineup as lefty bats against a right-handed Rockies starter. However, that shouldn't push someone like Rafaela, who's been crushing righties and lefties indiscriminately lately, out of the lineup. This isn't a platoon right now but, rather, it's an unfortunate reality of being forced to sit a helpful weapons because there simply aren't enough spots.
Duran, as a result, is the easiest piece to move out of this, and perhaps the most beneficial for the Red Sox. Make no mistake, that's not an easy decision to make, and there's a possibility that Boston weighs offers for both him and Abreu before making a trade. However, with Duran's upside, hustle and the 3.5 years of control remaining on his contract, he would surely be the sweet spot for the Red Sox to clear out the logjam but net the most in return from an acquiring team, most likely a piece that could help the team this season.
Rafaela is locked up until 2032 on an extremely team-friendly contract. Anthony is a potential future AL MVP candidate. Yoshida's contract is nearly impossible to trade at this point. Refsnyder is a platoon bat. That leaves these Duran or Abreu has the only viable options to move to clear out the logjam, and Duran's ceiling is simply more proven at this point, which makes it an easier player to trade because they're more likely to get meaningful value in return.
None of that is fair, especially since Duran is widely beloved by Red Sox fans. However, it's the reality of the business in MLB at this point and for Boston as they continue to try and push toward a return to the playoffs this season.
Some fans might've hoped that Boston could make it work, but it only took one game for that to look realistic when the lineup against the Rockies was released. And unfortunately, that makes the writing on the wall read clearer than ever for the Red Sox and their plans with Duran.