Red Sox Video
I can hear the pitchforks being sharpened already. It’s fine, everything’s fine. I’ll preface all this by saying I’m a Jarren Duran fan. He’s taken huge steps to become one of the best leadoff hitters in all of baseball in the last year, and according to Alex Cora, he is a clubhouse leader. My wife and I even sat in left field when the Red Sox came to our hometown, Busch Stadium, specifically because I wanted to watch him play up close. I’ll also say this has nothing to do with his suspension earlier this season, although that was warranted. No, this is about Jarren Duran, the baseball player, and what he offers in terms of trade value to this team.
This offseason's big push is a trade for top-tier pitching, as it should be. There’s a ton of talk, even from Craig Breslow and Sam Kennedy, about the wealth of infielders the Red Sox have within the organization, and at least part of the trade package has to come from that. However, without dealing with proven major league talent, that deal will require multiple top ten prospects, including at least two of the “Big Four,” to me, that’s too steep of a price to pay. Enter Jarren Duran.
Duran's leap to almost superstardom this year was a sight to behold. Most people entering the season had little use for him after his lackluster two previous seasons, but if you paid attention, you saw a player who could figure it out if he got his head on straight and focused. That’s mostly the Duran we saw this year. He ended the year with a .285 batting average, a .342 OBP, and a .345 BABIP. He hit a monster home run in the All-Star Game, won the All-Star Game MVP, is a nominee for the Hank Aaron award, and should receive some MVP votes. His pedigree is growing, there’s no doubt.
That being said, I think we’ve just seen the peak of Jarren Duran. I don’t believe that we will see this type of play out of him again. Duran will be a good baseball player for years to come, no doubt, but he will not be this caliber of baseball player. Although he didn’t feature it towards the end of the season because he was worn down, Duran’s best asset to this team is his speed on the base paths. He’s one of the best baserunners in the game, legging out what should be singles into doubles and what should be doubles into triples.
But as we saw with Jacoby Ellsbury, speed is the first thing to go for baseball players. The legs get older; they get tired. Duran has a history of foot injuries, and if he keeps up the breakneck speed at which he runs, his biggest tool will decline sooner rather than later. That will impact him not only on the base paths but also in the outfield. It’s no secret that Duran doesn’t take the best route to balls hit his way and makes up for it with his speed. It’s fun to watch right now, but when that speed takes a hit in a couple of years and balls that should be caught are landing beyond his glove, where are we then? While everyone was furious, the Sox moved on from Ellsbury; it was the right call. The front office must be prepared to make a similar decision and include Duran in trade talks this year. You can get a king’s ransom for him right now, so strike while the iron is hot. A package built around him and one of the top minor leaguers in the system, likely Marcelo Mayer, would be hard for any team to turn down.
The other names that come up in trade rumors, some floated by the team to the media, are Triston Casas and Wilyer Abreu. There’s value there, for sure, but you’re looking at them plus two of the big four in that type of deal, and to me, that’s not worth whomever is coming back to Boston. Casas was a blue-chip prospect with an elite plate approach. His future should be at first base in Boston and nowhere else. Abreu is in the conversation for a Gold Glove this year and proved that he’s more than just a platoon bat against right-handed pitching. Give him some time to grow, and he will be a valuable contributor to both sides of baseball.
I’m not advocating for trading Duran for just any pitcher. It has to be a top of the rotation, young ace. If the deal isn’t for George Kirby or Logan Gilbert, keep him around. I don’t buy that Seattle won’t trade from their rotation this offseason. They need hitters, and the only way they will trade for that is to give up a piece from their deepest position. If Seattle is willing to pick up the phone and talk pitching, then, in my opinion, Jarren Duran could easily be part of that deal to ensure that the Red Sox hold onto younger players with ceilings just as high.
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now