Jarren Duran’s Bat Has Gone Cold. That Might Actually Keep Him in Boston.

The Boston Red Sox are in sell mode. That much is becoming clearer by the day. They’ve dropped seven of their last ten, sit dead last in the AL East at 32-46, and no one in the front office is pretending this is a playoff team. But here’s the twist: one of their most obvious trade chips might not actually go anywhere.

Jarren Duran, the 29-year-old outfielder who looked like a building block not long ago, has been miserable at the plate this season. He’s hitting .199 with a .258 on-base percentage. Sure, he’s got 12 homers and 27 RBIs, but that’s about all the production you’ll find. His average, slugging percentage, and OPS are all on track to be career lows. And June has been brutal even by his standards. He’s slashing .143 so far this month and has exactly one hit in his last seven games.

According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, Duran’s struggles could actually work in his favor when it comes to staying put beyond the August 1 trade deadline.

Why holding onto Duran makes sense

The Red Sox are likely to shop their most attractive veteran assets first. Feinsand reports that reliever Aroldis Chapman and starter Sonny Gray will be the first names Boston tries to move. Both have complicating factors though. Gray holds a full no-trade clause, and Chapman’s $13 million option for 2027 triggers once he hits 40 innings. That makes them tricky but still movable for a contender in need of experience.

Duran is different. He’s under team control for two more years, which is valuable. But the problem is he’s not hitting worth a damn right now. Teams don’t pay premium prices for a guy who’s batting .199. If the Red Sox tried to trade him this month, they’d be selling at the absolute lowest point. Feinsand essentially said the same thing: unless Duran heats up fast, Boston would be trading low on him.

So what’s the smarter play? Keep him. Let him try to salvage something in the second half. Then revisit a trade in the winter when his value might be higher, or when a team is more desperate during the offseason.

It’s not a flashy strategy, but it’s the kind of patient move that could actually pay off for a team that’s already written off 2025.

What about the rest of this miserable season?

The Red Sox open a four-game series against the division-leading New York Yankees on Thursday night. That should be fun. Boston has the worst record in the American League right now, and the gap between them and the Yankees isn’t just a couple games, it’s a chasm. They’re on pace for 66 wins.

Craig Breslow, the team’s chief baseball officer, has a busy month ahead. His phone will ring a lot. Chapman and Gray should draw interest from teams looking for bullpen help or rotation depth. But Duran? He’ll probably still be in Boston on August 1, not because he’s untouchable, but because nobody wants to pay top dollar for a guy who can’t get base hits.