A pitiful.198 average has Jarren Duran fighting for his spot in the Red Sox lineup originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Red Sox had an offensive explosion today in their 17-1 win against the Baltimore Orioles, where all of their hitters went off. However, one hitter didn’t do much in All-Star Jarren Duran, who’s been slumping all season.
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Duran went 1-5 today, and hasn’t done much this season, even though he was a star in the World Baseball Classic and Spring Training.
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So far this season, Duran has slashed a pitiful .198/.261/.296/.558 with five doubles, one home run, and 11 RBI in 21 games. He’s making contact with the ball now, but he’s hitting it directly at fielders, and he’s still struck out a quarter of his plate appearances (23 out of 88).
Last season, he was much better, slashing .256/.332/.442/.774 with 41 doubles, an AL-leading 13 triples, 16 home runs, 84 RBI, and 24 stolen bases in 157 games. Just two seasons ago in his All-Star MVP year, he slashed .285/.342/.492/.834 with a MLB-leading 48 doubles and 14 triples, 21 homers, 75 RBI, and 34 stolen bases.
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Literally just before the season in March, Duran was a menace. In Spring Training, he hit almost .600 and had multiple home runs in the Grapefruit League before going to the World Baseball Classic to represent Mexico.
In the WBC, Duran was just as electric. He slashed an amazing .333/.412/1.000/1.412 with a double, three home runs, and five RBI in four games. So, it really was a surprise when he came into the 2026 season ice cold.
© Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
It might not be his fault, as the entire team is cold, and it could be the result of coaching. However, Duran doesn’t heat up soon and Roman Anthony and Masataka Yoshida do, his spot in the lineup might be taken from him. And if that happens, the Sox could think to shop him at the deadline.
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Hopefully, Duran gets back on his horse soon, and helps the Sox climb out of the hole they dug themselves into. If he can’t, his time in Boston may come to an end.
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