{"id":485243,"date":"2026-02-17T07:11:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T07:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/485243\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T07:11:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T07:11:11","slug":"what-jarren-duran-said-of-trade-rumors-reps-at-dh-with-red-sox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/485243\/","title":{"rendered":"What Jarren Duran said of trade rumors, reps at DH with Red Sox"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBoston Red Sox\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t“My parents look at it enough for me. So they text me and go, \u2018Did you get traded?'”<\/p>\n

\"Boston
\n\tJarren Duran could be looking at more reps at DH this season. Barry Chin\/The Boston Globe\t<\/p>\n

Something\u2019s got to give with the Red Sox\u2019s outfield logjam.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Boston has four legitimate impact talents in the outfield \u2014 Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, and Jarren Duran \u2014 but only three starting spots available.<\/p>\n

Barring injuries, a skilled part of that quartet will likely be relegated to reps at DH in 2026 \u2014 and that\u2019s without factoring in other players like Masataka Yoshida or Triston Casas who could be fighting for those same at-bats.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Duran, who is both the oldest player among those four players (29 years old) and likely boasts the lowest upside defensively, could be the odd man out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s more a testament to the rest of the talent around him that Duran \u2014 who posted a plus-11 defensive runs saved in 2025<\/a> \u2014 might still be the one bumped out of the outfield.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Speaking to reporters on Monday at Fort Myers<\/a>, Duran said the topic of being the team\u2019s primary DH hasn\u2019t been broached to him so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t heard anything like that,\u201d Duran said of moving to DH. \u201cSo I don\u2019t know. But whatever they need me to do, I\u2019m gonna do. I haven\u2019t heard any talks like that, but wherever AC [Alex Cora] and the front office needs me, I\u2019m gonna go do my best job. \u2026 I\u2019d be the fastest DH in the league, so that\u2019s a start.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Duran added that playing with Rob Refsnyder \u2014 Boston\u2019s de-facto fourth outfielder for the last few years \u2014 braced him for a scenario where his spot in the field may not be set in stone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe really took me under his wing and kind of taught me how to come off the bench,\u201d Duran said. \u201cAnd I think that\u2019s a really good approach I can take to DH\u2019ing \u2014 try and stay busy. Look at what pitchers are throwing. Look at the sequencing and stuff like that. So I kind of owe some stuff to him for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Duran \u2014 who posted a 4.7 WAR, hit 16 home runs, and 84 RBI last season \u2014 could still offer plenty of value as a DH, the outfielder was also mentioned in several trade rumors over the offseason.<\/p>\n

So far, Duran said that he hasn\u2019t fretted over his name sprouting up in trade talks, although his parents might be another story.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI never look at that stuff,\u201d Duran said. \u201cMy parents look at it enough for me. So they text me and go, \u2018Did you get traded?\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018You really think I\u2019m not going to tell you if I get traded? Come on.\u2019 So, no, I never give it any two cents. It\u2019s in God\u2019s hands and whatever happens, happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then I kind of tell them like, \u2018Hey, you don\u2019t need to be doing that. I\u2019m going to let you know if it happens,\u2019\u201d he added. \u201cAnd then they kind of mellow down from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duran \u2014 who finished eighth in MVP voting in 2024 and posted a whopping 8.7 WAR \u2014 said that he\u2019s looking forward to putting the 2025 campaign in the rearview mirror. His batting average dropped from .285 to .256, while his OPS sank from .834 to .774 in the span of a year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always disappointed in myself,\u201d Duran said. \u201cI always feel like I don\u2019t do the best that I can do. And I feel like I let the fans down sometimes or my teammates. But it\u2019s a new year. I just gotta flush it and go out and do my thing. I come in every time and try to work my hardest. And I know that my teammates and the fans realize that I\u2019m always working my hardest, so that\u2019s all I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Profile\t<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.<\/p>\n

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