The Boston Red Sox started this season with an outfield logjam. The problem still persists as of today. Jarren Duran has been the victim of several benchings, and not without good reason.

My Hottest Take: Masataka Yoshida Will Get More PT Than Jarren Duran

Duran is not going anywhere anytime soon, unless the situation really gets desperate. While fans are split 50/50 on if they want him around or if they want him gone, he is a good player. While his numbers haven’t been those of his All-Star campaign, Duran can play good baseball. Yoshida has been one of the best hitters of the season, which makes him a better trade candidate than Duran.

If the team trades Yoshida, that opens the DH spot for Duran completely, gets him the playing time he needs, and gets him his confidence again. It is not like Duran does not know how to play baseball; he is just not being patient in the box, and his chase rate has been the highest of his career.

What You Should Know: Duran’s Confidence Is Not There

Duran is missing his swagger; it's unsure if it's from chasing outside the zone or just something going on personally. The world knows about his mental health struggles. The All-Star campaign he had two years ago seems to be an anomaly, which does not make sense.

"Chasing pitches, early on he was taking walks and now he’s chasing, we've got to make sure we swing at the right ones," said Alex Cora (prior to being fired), per MLB.com's Ian Browne. All fans can see how uncomfortable he seems to be in the batter's box, which is leading to benching, including against right-handed pitchers that he typically crushes. Duran’s chase rate has continued to climb this season after starting off being very patient and seeming to be comfortable during his at-bats.

Earlier in the month, Yoshida had 20 fewer plate appearances than Duran and was hitting .324 with a .889 on-base percentage. Duran was hitting .164 with a .487 on-base percentage, along with a 34.5% chase rate and 40.2% whiff rate. For reference, in 2024, when he was an All-Star, he ended the season with a 24.8% whiff rate and 28.1% chase rate. Even last year, his whiff rate was 29.3%; he is swinging and missing more than 11% more this season than he has the last two seasons, which means he is not seeing the baseball well enough.

Before You Go: Duran Can Still Turn This Around

It’s hard to turn things around when someone else is having the at-bats that are needed to turn things around; however, there are things Duran can be doing off the field to get his mind back in the game. Duran has great baseball IQ and can easily be working on his swing in the batting cages. Granted, it’s not a live pitcher, but it may help get the confidence back up. Even going back through all the videos and then comparing them to last season could help figure out if this slump is a mechanical issue or just in Duran’s head.

Needless to say, Duran will be a Boston Red Sox for the foreseeable future, unless he really plummets further down.