One Red Sox Star Already on Trade Block After 40 Games

As the Boston Red Sox look to keep their season from collapsing into ruins, those of us on the outside can start tentatively sketching out plans for the trade deadline.

Or, as we learned last season when Rafael Devers was dealt to the San Francisco Giants, any time between now and the end of July when chief baseball officer Craig Breslow thinks the move is suddenly necessary.

Is there a pre-deadline trade to be made this season? Tough to say for sure, but what feels more concrete is the player who would be moved if Breslow did pull the trigger before the calendar flipped to that last week of July, when everything is on the table.

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Why Jarren Duran is already on trade block

It's been nearly a full calendar year since the Red Sox first started carrying four outfielders who deserved full-time run. It wasn't always clear who was the most likely to be traded from that mix, but now it seems all but certain that if anyone is, it will be Jarren Duran.

Duran has been off to a slow start this season, though he's picked it up slightly since the calendar turned to May. On top of that, his emotions have run high on a few occasions already, most recently when he called out NBC Sports Boston analyst Michael Holley on Instagram--then quickly deactivated his account.

The Red Sox could have had a bigger return for Duran last season at the deadline than they'd be likely to get now, and that return might have been tripled if they'd done it in the 2024-25 offseason, when he was coming off a top-10 Most Valuable Player finish.

He hasn't been all that consistent since then, but the Red Sox have also done him no favors. He's a more-than-capable defensive center fielder who could feasibly play all 162 games in a season, and the Red Sox have restricted him to left field and designated hitter duties. It might be what's best for Boston while he's still in town, but it puts a cap on his value individually.

With all that said, it still doesn't feel like a certainty that Duran will be moved. Roman Anthony is on the injured list, though presumably not for too much longer. When Anthony is back, we might find out just how serious Breslow is about moving Duran this year.

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