Jarren Duran has not been good at the plate this year, but the Red Sox keep giving him opportunities.
Duran recently revealed that he thought he was undeserving of those opportunities and that he thought he was going to be released.
"To be honest, I thought I was going to be released,” Duran said Tuesday at Fenway Park, per the Boston Globe's Alex Speier. “I am the worst player in MLB statistically. I hate looking at the numbers but when you’re going bad, you look at the numbers and it was pretty obvious how bad I was. I thought I was going to be released.
“There were a couple times where I yelled at (interim manager Chad Tracy), like, ‘I shouldn’t be playing! What are you guys (expletive) doing? I shouldn’t even be in this lineup.’ And then something good would happen, and Trace would be like, ‘That’s why you’re in the (expletive) lineup!’”
Duran was an All-Star in 2024 and led the league in doubles and triples. The next season, he saw some decline, but was still an extra-base hit machine. However, this year he is hitting .203 with a .613 OPS. The injury to Roman Anthony has created a path for him to play regularly after the outfield logjam was the talk of the offseason.
Duran was a hot name in trade rumors at last year's deadline and in the offseason. However, he has next to zero trade value right now given how bad he's played.
Things are starting to change for Duran, though. In his last 14 games, he is slashing .294/.296/.451 with two homers and 10 RBIs. His OPS has gone up 19 points in that span, and he is starting to look like a plus player again.
When Anthony returns, Duran may find himself on the bench, but he is trying to make the most of the opportunity he has.
“I thought that I wasn’t going to be here, which was understandable the way I’ve been playing,” said Duran, per Speier. “I’m just thankful that I have the opportunity to continue this run with this team and this organization, and hopefully make a playoff push.”