Boston Red Sox
Duran’s hit three homers within the first week of spring coaching, together with two towards lefties.
Perhaps the ability bat the Pink Sox have been on the lookout for this offseason was on the roster this entire time.
Jarren Duran hit two dwelling runs within the Pink Sox’ Grapefruit League sport towards the Twins on Saturday. Duran went yard in his first at-bat, turning righty Taj Bradley’s 97 mph fastball right into a 401-foot blast to heart.
However arguably the extra spectacular homer from Duran got here within the fourth inning. Duran hit a 409-foot homer to heart off lefty Kendry Rojas’s 94 mph fastball.
Duran’s dwelling run towards Rojas was his second in as many days towards a left-handed pitcher. He hit a 409-foot homer to proper heart off Braves ace and former Pink Sox star Chris Sale’s 79 mph slider on Friday.
It’s definitely a optimistic improvement for Duran, who has struggled towards lefties for a lot of his profession. The 29-year-old left-handed hitter has a profession .232 batting common and .620 OPS towards southpaws in his profession. He additionally has simply eight homers in 558 profession plate appearances towards lefties.
The 2025 season was significantly tough for Duran towards lefties. He hit simply .211 with a .600 OPS and three homers in 209 plate appearances in lefty-on-lefty matchups final yr.
With Duran taking a step again on the plate in 2025, the prevailing thought coming into the offseason was that he could be the odd man out within the Pink Sox’ outfield. Nonetheless, a commerce involving Duran by no means materialized, with the Pink Sox’ asking value for the outfielder reportedly being too excessive.
Though Duran remained with the workforce, there have been some questions on what position he could be coming into spring coaching. Pink Sox supervisor Alex Cora mentioned that the plan this season was to have proper fielder Wilyer Abreu be part of Boston’s lineup when it goes up towards lefties, which might restrict the period of time Duran would spend on the sphere.
However perhaps a powerful exhibiting from Duran in spring coaching may throw a wrench into these plans. Following his 2-for-2 day on the plate on Saturday (which included a stroll), Duran is now 7-for-12 on the plate (.583) with three dwelling runs and two doubles this spring.
Duran was the Pink Sox’ designated hitter on Saturday, which might be his probably position for Boston in 2026 with Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Abreu occupying the outfield. He additionally hit within the three spot within the Pink Sox’ lineup, as he has all spring coaching. With Anthony locked into the leadoff spot, Boston will virtually definitely go together with a lefty within the three-hole to steadiness the highest of the order. So, weeks just like the one Duran is having make him a powerful candidate to take that spot.
Definitely, the ability that Duran’s displayed by means of the primary week of spring coaching would make him a powerful match for the three spot. Whereas Duran’s been among the many prime hitters at producing doubles, he hasn’t displayed a ton of energy in his profession. He’s logged 37 homers during the last two seasons, posting 16 in 2025.
Even after an offseason of commerce rumors, although, there does appear to be some optimism surrounding Duran throughout the Pink Sox’ group.
“I do know it’s early, however JD looks as if a special hitter,” Cora told reporters earlier this week. “Hitting the ball actually exhausting to the pull aspect. Attending to some pitches that final yr in all probability he didn’t get [to], and anticipating a variety of large issues from him.”
Get the most recent Boston sports activities information
Obtain updates in your favourite Boston groups, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.
