The Boston Red Sox have a decision to make with outfielder Jarren Duran this offseason.
If you’re a Red Sox fan who has been following the club over the last few years, or simply a baseball fan in general who has followed trade rumors, you’ve likely seen Duran’s name a lot. His name was out there as a trade candidate before the 2025 season, ahead of the 2025 trade deadline, before the 2026 season and before the 2026 trade deadline. In every scenario, the Red Sox kept the speedster.
The offseason is now here for Boston and there surely will be trade chatter again with the Red Sox still having a surplus of talented outfielders. Plus, Duran just had the worst offensive season of his career to this point at the same time. The 30-year-old has two more seasons of team control beyond the 2026 season and arbitration is going to play a big role this offseason in the decision-making process. On Friday, MLB Trade Rumors released its salary estimates for arbitration-eligible players and had Duran at $11.1 million. When it comes to projecting arbitration salaries, MLB Trade Rumors is considered to be among the very best in the business.
What Should Boston Do?
Now, of course, nothing is guaranteed at this exact moment about that $11.1 million number. But if that’s the direction Duran’s contract is going to go, it’s going to make a decision more difficult this winter. In 2026, Duran made $7.7 million and batted .207 with a .266 on-base percentage. Now, of course, his 20 homers, 69 RBIs and 21 stolen bases were good. But those batting average and on-base percentage numbers are almost unplayable.
There’s no denying Duran’s talent. When he’s at his best, he’s a five-tool player. But the 2026 season wasn’t his best. In 2024, he was a 9.0 WAR player. In 2025, he was a 4.9 WAR player in what was viewed as a somewhat down year. In 2026, he was a 0.4 WAR player. It’s going to be hard to argue for the increase to a number in the range that MLB Trade Rumors projected with two straight years of regression. Plus, now Duran is 30 years old.
The deadline to tender contracts is the last Friday before Thanksgiving each November. This year, that day falls on Nov. 20. If the Red Sox non-tender Duran, he would simply enter free agency. If the Red Sox tender him a contract, then that’s when this number — or something similar — will come into play. For a club that needs to add more power, shelling out that much cash to Duran would be a lot. Also, a price tag that high could be difficult to trade after he just had a difficult season.
When it comes to Duran, the first decision that’s going to come is tendering — or non-tendering — him. If they were to non-tender him, they save the cash but get nothing in return. It’s a difficult call, to say the least.
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