It feels like forever ago when Jarren Duran was an All-Star, and this year has certainly not gone the way he hoped it would.
Duran is hitting .206 with a .620 OPS in 106 games this year. He has played nearly every day thanks to the injury to Roman Anthony, but he simply has not gotten the job done. He admitted recently that he thought he was going to be released before the trade deadline due to his poor play.
Duran was a hot name in trade rumors in the offseason and at last year's deadline. Perhaps that was all weighing on him, but when the trade deadline passed, he was still on the Red Sox.
“I thought that I wasn’t going to be here, which was understandable the way I’ve been playing,” said Duran, per the Boston Globe's Alex 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.”
Well, Duran is starting to make a bigger impact at the plate. In his last five games, he has eight hits and a .444/.474/.833 slash line with two homers. He has also stolen two bases and has struck out just twice. Three of his last five outings have been multi-hit efforts.
Duran led all of baseball in doubles and triples in 2024, and led the American League in triples last year. He was an extra-base hit machine for two years, but this year has not yielded the same results. However, if he can stay hot through the end of the season, the Red Sox offense could be a real problem for opposing teams in the postseason.