After a down 2025 season, Boston Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran spent the offseason hearing his name in trade rumors as the Red Sox tried to clear their outfield logjam. After no trade materialized, Duran headed into the 2026 season looking to put those rumors behind him and bounce back at the plate. Instead, the 30-year-old found himself the center of controversy on several occasions as he posted the worst season of his career. Now, with a hefty arbitration figure looming and his trade value further cratering, could Duran become a non-tender candidate? 

With six players competing for four outfield spots and the designated hitter role, Duran entered the season with an uncertain roster spot, cycling in and out of the lineup alongside Roman Anthony and Masataka Yoshida. Over the first month of the season, Duran struggled to get into a rhythm at the plate, hitting just .170/.231/.250/.481 in his first 26 games. 

However, his playing time increased when Anthony went down with a torn ligament in his right ring finger, missing 101 regular-season games. With more consistent playing time and a defined role, Duran started turning things around in May, hitting .261/.331/.548/.879 with nine home runs and 22 RBI in 27 games. 

Unfortunately for both the Red Sox and Duran, whatever clicked in May didn’t carry over for the rest of the season as his early-season struggles returned. In 98 games from June 1 to the end of the regular season, he hit just .199/.253/.330/.584 with 10 home runs, six doubles, and four triples, driving in 36 runs. 

Overall, Duran posted a slash line of .207/.266/.361/.627 with 20 home runs, 15 doubles, and five triples, driving in 69 runs. Among 135 qualified hitters, Duran finished the year in the bottom five in batting average (.207, 132nd), on-base percentage (.266, 134th), and weighted runs created plus (69, 134th). 

Duran found ways to add value to the team despite his rough year at the plate, finishing the season with six outs above average in left field, which ranked in the 90th percentile among all left fielders. He also became just the third player in Red Sox history to record multiple seasons of 20 or more home runs and 20 or more stolen bases, joining Mookie Betts and Jackie Jensen. 

That said, of the 527 20/20 seasons in Major League Baseball history, Duran’s .627 OPS was the worst of any 20/20 hitter. His 0.4 bWAR is tied for the 519th-best mark of any 20/20 season. 

Since making his debut in 2021, controversy has seemed to follow Duran into every season. It began in the 2022 campaign when he got into an altercation with fans in Kansas City after a series of misplays in center field. In 2024, Duran was caught on a hot mic shouting a homophobic slur at a heckling fan, causing the team to suspend him. Again in 2025, Duran got into it with opposing fans at a road ballpark when a Cleveland Guardians fan allegedly referenced his struggles with mental health. Duran found himself at the center of controversy three times during his rough 2026 season at the plate.

The first incident occurred during Boston’s April trip to Minnesota for a series against the Twins. After grounding out, the outfielder was caught by NESN cameras making an explicit gesture to a fan in the stands. Duran claimed that the fan made reference to his mental health, though an investigation done by the Twins found no evidence of that. He then got into another verbal back-and-forth with fans during the Yankees-Red Sox series at Fenway Park in late June.

Finally, during the Red Sox August series in Sacramento, the team took on the A’s. With All-Star first baseman Willson Contreras on third base in the sixth inning of a tied game, Duran lazily flew out to left field. However, as Duran headed back to the dugout, NESN cameras caught him seemingly shouting to Contreras that he should have tagged up. The shouting continued as Duran was again caught yelling out to the field from inside the dugout. 

After hitting .285/.342/.492/.834, finishing top 10 in MVP voting and winning the All-Star Game MVP in 2024, Duran’s arbitration numbers were slightly inflated. The 30-year-old made $7.7 million in 2026. According to MLB Trade Rumors, Duran’s arbitration figure is expected to rise to a hefty $11.1 million, which would make him the eighth highest-paid player on the roster. 

Given that the Red Sox already have a dearth of outfielders and nearly $270 million committed to the 2027 roster, Duran has likely played his last game in a Red Sox uniform. However, the team would be selling him at an all-time low value, likely not even getting the return of a 3-4 WAR player that interested teams were valuing him at last offseason. 

That said, it’s unlikely the Red Sox would simply non-tender Duran; a trade remains the most likely outcome with a team looking to buy low on his ceiling. The most recent example of the Red Sox moving on from a player with an arbitration figure they deemed too high came in 2021, when the team traded outfielder Hunter Renfroe ($7.6 million) to the Milwaukee Brewers for center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. and prospects David Hamilton and Alex Binelas. 

While Duran’s ceiling likely gives him more value, his increased arbitration figure may drag that value back down. All that to say, those hoping for a significant return in exchange for Duran will likely find themselves disappointed. 

The MLB non-tender deadline is Nov. 20.