Red Sox fans have no reason to trust Craig Breslow's excuse for Jarren Duran insult

The Boston Red Sox have had an eventful offseason thus far, bringing in Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler, Patrick Sandoval, and Aroldis Chapman to improve a pitching staff that was in dire need of a boost. The Red Sox, objectively, are better than the .500 team that they were in 2024, at least on paper.

While the Red Sox have gotten better, they haven't quite made the splashes Red Sox fans had hoped. Boston fans had dreams of the team winning the Juan Soto sweepstakes, but the team fell short. They had high hopes in regard to Max Fried and Corbin Burnes but watched those players end up elsewhere. The biggest move Boston made was the Crochet trade, which, while big, saw them acquire a player who will make just $3.8 million in 2024. Despite promises of being big spenders, the Red Sox haven't made any big-money moves just yet.

As if their refusal to spend big money on the open market isn't frustrating enough, the Red Sox failed to reach an agreement with Jarren Duran in his first year of arbitration and, barring a surprising agreement, will head to a hearing with the star outfielder.

Duran reportedly requested $4 million while the Red Sox stuck at $3.5 million. There's a good chance they're going to arbitration over a measly $500,000.

When asked about an update on Duran's contract situation, Craig Breslow went out of his way to disclose how close he is with Duran and that the organization has no interest in an ugly arbitration hearing mainly because of his experience as a player. Unfortunately, Red Sox fans have no reason to trust Breslow at this point when statements like these are made.

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Craig Breslow continues to ruffle Red Sox fans' feathers with frustrating Jarren Duran update

So far during Breslow's tenure, there has been a lot of talk from the Red Sox organization and not a lot of action. Last offseason, the team was going to go "full throttle" and proceeded to do virtually nothing. Breslow and Co. went on and on about their desire to win, yet the team has not appeared interested in spending like the big market team that they are. Now, they're going to arbitration with Duran over $500,000.

For reference, Duran made the league minimum of $760,000 in 2024. He was projected to make $4.9 million in his first year of arbitration by MLB Trade Rumors. He asked for $900,000 less than his projection, and the Red Sox still failed to come to an agreement.

This isn't just a random player on their roster. Duran is coming off a season that saw him arguably be their best player. He slashed .2285/.342/.492 with 21 home runs and 75 RBI. He stole 34 bases and led the league with 48 doubles and 14 triples while playing elite outfield defense as well. This is a player Boston should be eager to sign long-term, yet, they're going to arbitration, a process that could ruin relationships, over $500,000.

Recently, Corbin Burnes went in depth about how an arbitration hearing fractured his relationship with the Milwaukee Brewers. It was probably unlikely he was going to remain there past free agency anyway, but the Brewers burned the bridges between the two sides by taking him to arbitration. Breslow hopes that the Red Sox will avoid that with Duran, but who knows if the outfielder will hold a grudge. Is it really worthwhile to pursue this over $500,000? Breslow, as a former player, ought to know better.

The Red Sox have done more than they did last offseason, but they still have yet to prove that anything other than money really matters to them. If Breslow thought Duran was as pivotal to the future of the organization as he says he does, he shouldn't be entering a process in which he will make arguments against the player he says he covets earning just $500,000 more than they were comfortable paying.