The Boston Red Sox do not seem close to trading outfielder Jarren Duran, and the reasoning makes a lot of sense.
Coming into the offseason, it seemed highly probable that the Red Sox would trade at least one outfielder, and Duran was the most logical candidate because of his age and proximity to free agency. However, it has become clear throughout the winter that Boston still values Duran highly and hasn’t been receiving the return offers it has been seeking.
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Case in point: On Tuesday, details emerged about where the Red Sox stood in talks with the Kansas City Royals about shipping Duran to the American League Central.
Red Sox’s Jarren Duran asking price? Cole Ragans
Anne Rogers of MLB.com confirmed that the Red Sox were asking for Cole Ragans, the 2024 All-Star lefty starter, in a potential Duran trade with Kansas City. That notion was widely assumed for much of the winter, but hadn’t been put in such plain terms.
Meanwhile, Rogers’ report also added that the Red Sox and Royals had stalled their discussions.
“The Royals would like to add one more bat, and a trade remains the best path to do so. But the likelihood of that remains to be seen,” Rogers wrote. “There is interest in Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran, but the asking price — starting pitcher Cole Ragans — is simply too high for the Royals, and talks have stalled.”
Ragans is an ace when healthy, and you can throw out his 4.67 ERA in 61 2/3 innings last year, because it came with 98 strikeouts and a 2.50 FIP. He also has three years of team control remaining, and the Royals are within their right to turn down the Red Sox without much explanation.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with the Red Sox holding firm here, either, and many might support it. Even if Duran is something of an extra piece right now, surpluses tend to work themselves out, and there’s no reason to sell on a player who’s only a year removed from a near 9-WAR season for penneis on the dollar.
The odds of Duran going to the Royals seem relatively low at this point, but the odds of him moving at all? That’s not entirely defined.
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.si.com ’
