With Major League Baseball’s trade deadline rapidly approaching, it’s time for teams to start deciding what their strategy is in terms of buying and selling, and who will potentially be made available.
For the Boston Red Sox, who have won 10 games in a row headed into the All-Star break, they are expected to be buyers, but with the possibility of making a huge splash in trading outfielder Jarren Duran. Now, trading Duran wouldn’t mean they are necessarily selling, because of the return package they would receive.
Over the weekend, there were a couple of massive updates in the trade market, and one regarding the San Diego Padres’ continued interest in Boston’s star outfielder Duran.
Padres GM Reportedly in Relentless Pursuit of Duran
It was reported a couple of weeks ago that the San Diego Padres were a team that had major interest in the 28-year-old Duran, and earlier today, Bleacher Report’s Erik Beaston put out a piece outlining the latest on Duran’s trade potential:
“The Red Sox may not be eager to ship out a player who is beloved in the locker room for his leadership but given the eager pursuit of Preller and Co., the potential haul in return for the player may be too good to pass up. The Padres would, after all, likely have to give up a top prospect or two to wrest Duran from the Red Sox. If the team can get a deal done, San Diego would be getting a talented, fiery, passionate young star sporting a slash line of .258/.318/.431, with eight home runs and 50 RBI through the first half. He would immediately upgrade the outfield for the Padres, improving the left side while teaming with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill to make one of the most dynamic young units in all of baseball.”
As Beaston noted, a deal like this would certainly give the Padres one of the scariest outfields in all of baseball, but what would the 2024 All-Star game MVP cost San Diego?
Duran Would Come at a Hefty Price
In order to acquire a player like Duran, who is a threat to leg out a triple pretty much every at-bat, a good return package for the Boston Red Sox would be catcher prospect Ethan Salas and reliever Jeremiah Estrada. The San Diego Padres have three all-star relievers, so giving up Estrada, who is also having a quality season, shouldn’t be too much to ask. Estrada has a 2.93 ERA in 43 innings this season.
For the Padres, AJ Preller loves to make big splashes at the trade deadline, and that likely won’t change this season. Expect him to continue to make calls to the Red Sox front office for Duran, and potentially get a deal done in the final weeks.
Duran would be one of the biggest moves if he were to be moved, but this blockbuster deal likely hinges on whether the Red Sox want to move Duran. Again, they are playing like one of the best teams in baseball, but Duran is one of their sparkplug players, and Boston already traded away one of their best players at the end of June when Rafael Devers was moved. However, with that logjam in the outfield, Boston may go full youth movement, regardless of how this season turns out.
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