The Red Sox have optioned outfielder Jarren Duran to Triple-A Worcester, reports Chris Cottilo of MassLive (Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe had earlier reported that Duran’s locker was empty, suggesting such a move had occurred). The move opens a roster spot for the return of Trevor Story, who’s been activated from the 10-day IL and is in the starting lineup for today’s game against the Rays.
While the move may be short-lived with rosters set to expand to 28 in a few days, it will represent a disappointment for Duran, a consensus top-100 prospect entering the season. Though by no means entirely overmatched in the big leagues, Duran’s batting line — .220/.283/.365 in 219 plate appearances — fell well short of the stellar .305/.379/.531 line he posted in Triple-A in roughly the same sample.
Meanwhile, the combination of Duran’s demotion and Story’s return could have something of a cascading effect on the Red Sox lineup, likely pushing Enrique Hernandez to more regular duty in center field and Christian Arroyo to first base, at least until Eric Hosmer returns from injury (per Ian Browne of MLB.com). In addition to offering a bit more defensive stability, Story’s return adds some much-needed power potential to Alex Cora’s lineup card, even as Story has limped to a career-worst .221/.289/.423 batting line in his first year in Boston.
Even if Story returns to form, though, the Red Sox would need a minor miracle to salvage what’s been a disappointing season in Beantown. Despite high expectations and a hot start, the club has been beset by injuries to the pitching staff (including to would-be ace Chris Sale, who suffered a broken wrist in a cycling accident just as he’d returned from a series of baseball-related injuries) and currently sits in last place in the AL East and 8 games behind the Mariners for the American League’s final wild card spot.
The Sox also face a rather uncertain future, with J.D. Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Wacha, Rich Hill, and Hernandez all set to enter free agency at season’s end, with Xander Bogaerts an effective lock to exercise his opt-out clause and join them after pre-season extension talks broke down. Third baseman Rafael Devers remains under team control through next season but will be a free agent thereafter, also a likelihood given the similar impasse reached between player and club in pre-season discussions.
Jarren Duran when he should have Dewalked
Really bad joke
But isn’t he being demoted at least in part because he did walk, thereby forcing Verdugo to run from left to cover CF?
I think some of the fans and media have been overly critical of Duran for political reasons, just like Houck.
But now it doesn’t really matter, most of Red Sox Nation has given up on the season. Looking at Fenway today is so sad, a beautiful Sunday afternoon game in August and all we see on TV are thousands upon thousands of empty seats.
It’s gonna take a while for the Red Sox to win back the fan base.
Probably will be worse next year after the exodus of free agents
His replacement is Trevor Story
FINALLY
“Farm system.”
Sounds better than ‘meat processing facility’.
About time
Hopefully Boston will throw in the towel on 2022 soon and promote some more youngsters. Top promotion candidates are: Triston Casas (1B), Frank German (RP) and Bryan Mata (SP). Both Casas and German are on track to make the opening day roster next year so it would be good to get them some major league experience now. If not for his TJS, Mata would have been earmarked to make the team out of camp next season too. He should still be up sometime in ‘23 but let’s see how he does vs. major league hitters now and give him something to work on over the offseason. No reason to waste any more starts on Rich Hill. I love the guy but with the Sox out of the race, let’s use his spot for some rookies to start the game and Hill can be the first reliever off the bench.
Absolutely no reason to bring Casas up. Hes missed a good amount of time this year and he will be better spending the rest of the year in AAA against lesser pitching.
I don’t think where the pitching comes from. if Casas is healthy, he has to play every day to get at bats. If they bring him up, it has to be to play full-time.
I’d rather see then bring Zack Kelly up than German. German is a no brainer lock for a 40man spot. Kelly has had a very strong AAA season and stuff that might play… he’s definitely gone if not added to 40man and resigned.
However, if they bring neither of those two up, I will be very confused, because if they’ve already decided Kelly isn’t a guy, then yes, let’s get some growing pains out of the way for German.
Yeah, I’m with you on Zach Kelly getting another shot. He’s had a good season.
Would it make sense to promote Mata to AAA? He’s only pitched about 50 innings at Portland. Although it does seem as though the Sox chances to catch a wild card is remote, mathematically, they’re still in it. What message would that send to those guys still fighting for a playoff spot? Frank German on the other hand has pitched well @AAA. Send Ryan Brasier packing and bring him up.
Brazier must have embarrassing pix of some body in the Sox organization to have lasted this long. Lol
Absolutely atrocious.
Sox can only bring up 3 and most likely be players coming off of the IL. So Eovaldi/Hosmer/Houck maybe Duran if one of the three don’t come back. Not likely to see many prospects this way
“Houck threw off of flat ground” I’d assume he’s weeks away, Sept 1 is 4 days away.
More to the point you only get a couple of spots and have injured players coming back. Its not like even a few years ago when you could bring up the entire 40 man roster for September
I Dont follow. Houck is weeks away, roster expansion is days away. Youre worrying about something that will take care of itself. For example, someone gets injuried between now and then, or Houck is slow and returning and never pitches this year.
Youre imagining problems where there is none.
That’s more likely. What’s the point in bringing any of the injured players back (unless the team is undecided on Eovaldi’s future). Houck is of course part of 23 and nothing Hosmer does the rest of this season will change Boston’s or any other team’s assessment of him for next year.
Worcester? Should DFA outright…c ya…Zero talent
He runs fast.
Boston can DFA Brasier and Familia to make room for both Casas and German on the 40-man and move Sale to the 60 day-IL to add Mata. I believe all 3 need to be added to the 40-man this offseason anyways so why not do it now so they can give them some time in the majors this season?
Word on the street is they are planning to trade Casas and don’t want to devalue him like they did with Duran by playing him in the majors.
I would absolutely love Casas. How about Dominguez and a 20ish pitching prospect?
I think trading Casas is a big mistake, he’ll be the first baseman for the Sox for a long time
Not if they extend Devers.
Isn’t Devers our DH of the future?
Was going to point out the same thing DBH. Devers is future DH, not 1B
You don’t move a 26-year-old 3B straight to DH, you try them out at another position such as 1B and see how they do. Just like the Jays did with Vlad.
David Ortiz? He was 24 when he began playing DH more than 1B. That obviously didn’t work out well. He only played another 16 years on his way to Cooperstown after being moved to DH at such a young age.
Are you going to go with 2 lefties at 1B? You’re gonna platoon Hosmer, who is a good first baseman, decent hitter, and is being paid league min for the next 2 years and Devers???
Dude.
Devers cannot play first. If they thought he could, don’t you think they would have tried it in spring training? Big mistake to now try him out elsewhere given his bat is too 10 or better. Even DHing will take an adjustment.
DBH – Ortiz is a bad comp and totally irrelevant to the discussion of players switching defensive positions. He was a career 1B who never played at any other position because he couldn’t … didn’t have the frame for any other position.
1B is considered the easiest defensive position, it’s where you move guys who can’t play anywhere else. Absolutely the Sox would be wise in moving Devers off 3B at some point, and 1B is a position where you don’t need to have good range or be able to make good throws – two things that Devers has struggled with over the years at 3B.
dewey – Because of his age they didn’t want to give up on Devers mastering 3B, and they haven’t had anyone suitable to replace him at 3B. Those are the two reasons Devers hasn’t been tested at 1B yet. I’m guessing if he’s rewarded with a huge contract, he will agree to at least try 1B.
I agree on the defensive comp, but you stated age as a reason. But again, your idea would have Devers and Hosmer platooning, and they are both left handed batters.
Move him to DH and keep him healthy
DBH – Why are you so sure Hosmer will stick around? He may not even make 2023 opening day. The Padres are paying the remainder of his contract, so there’s no reason for the Sox to hold onto him if he continues to put up just a .710 OPS even with his GG defense.
As for health concerns, 1B is not a physically taxing position to play. Devers has back issues that could be triggered by swinging the bat more than anything else, it’s the same thing that has been plaguing JD who has been a fulltime DH.
Bottom line is Devers will be seeking an infielder contract, the Red Sox will rightfully refuse to give him an infielder contract if they plan to have him be the DH.
Ortiz is arguably the greatest DH of all time, he never earned more than $16M. Devers absolutely will refuse to be paid as a DH.
Duran may still put it together, but he is a reminder not to overvalue your prospects. I say that as a Yankee fan who saw Clint “legendary bat speed” Frazier flame out. Err, Jackson Frazier now.
He should of been sent down when he decided not to run for the ball he misplayed in their 30-5 loss a couple weeks ago. That was just pathetic. Poor body language from a young player should be a concern
Something used to never, ever see happen, or if did? Was an immediate release. last few decades can remember Manny Ramirez, That Duran episode u mentioned and BJ Upton being members of the lazy club while making mistakes in the OF. Remember the Upton one, while with TB allowed a ball to go to the wall while he just jogged slowly after badly misplaying it.
Ramirez flat out didn’t care some of the time it seemed. Duran, for a kid without a place in the game established was astonishing.
I might be wrong here but I think too much was made of that. He lost the ball in the air and when it landed he saw Verdugo was closer than he was. Is he going to run towards the ball and get in the way from Verdugo throwing it back in? I wouldn’t consider him a non hustler because of this incident. Blown way out of proportion. And by everyone.
He didnt even cover to cutoff the ball or back out a base, he just stood there and looked. Thats unprofessional, and its worse for a guy who doesnt even have a full year in the league. They should of either sent him down or sat him for 2 weeks. Managers like Showalter or Francona would have never gone for that
That was a deer-in-the-headlight moment for Duran, it happens to raw players. Calling him lazy for that play is wrong.
Exactly….the whining nonsense on this board by so called know it all Red Sox fans is ridiculous. The Kid hustles all the time, but the stupid fan base that wants to complain about everything because its been a ***** season, continue to give up on the young kids because they don’t have immediate success. Does Duran have some flaws in his game…. yes. But based on his speed and athletic ability, he can become very good complimentary player. He needs to put the ball in play more to the left side of the field instead of pulling off and rolling over grounders to second.
“Despite high expectations and a hot start..”
What? They were 11 and 20. In what world is that a hot start? Crimeny jickets.
Then they were 43 and 31. So that’s 32 and 11, which is killing it.
But NOT a hot start by any imagination.
hayzee – The new guy is wrong on both counts. They started horrifically, just like 2019, and nobody expected them to finish higher than 3rd in the division. Not when you look at the players who replaced the players the Red Sox lost.
You don’t replace Schwarber with Dalbec/Cordero, or Renfroe with JBJ, or ERod with Hill/Paxton, and have high expectations.
And that hot streak that started in May was meaningless when you look at their competition.
In Duran’s defense, he hasn’t been an outfielder very long. He lost sight of it obviously. The knock on the kid was when interviewed afterwards, he said something to the effect that in the future, he would at least take a couple of steps toward the ball so as to lessen the bad optic of not showing some hustle and looking as though he didn’t care. Watching him it’s obvious that he gets off on the wrong foot frequently, and doesn’t run good routes to the ball when hit. Leave him down in AAA to learn how to play the position.. Sign or trade for a capable CF for 23
Rich Hill. You have to love watching a 42 year old go 7 innings. Or you don’t like baseball.
He looked like Cy Hill today
hayzee – I completely agree. While I never liked the Hill signing, what he did yesterday was remarkable. Not just the 7 inning part, but the 11Ks especially … it was great to see.
Perhaps it was his revenge for getting traded by Tampa midseason last year.
The team is a dumpster fire.