Internet speculation has been abound lately with rumors of the Houston Astros being interested in Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran and pitcher Brayan Bello. Likewise, the internet has connected Astros' infielder Isaac Paredes to Boston, though there seems to be more traction on that front.

On Friday, sports media personality Will Kunkel said that the Astros are not interested in trading for Duran, though he didn't provide any detail beyond that. The Astros finished second in the American League West last season and should be better in 2026 once getting Yordan Alvarez back. That said, they haven't wanted to overspend, so they haven't been huge players in free agency outside of signing Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Imai to a three-year deal.

Trading for Duran or Bello, who are both affordable, would fit their budget, but Duran is evidently not in their plans.

--Now 29 years-old, Duran will play most of next season at 29. He won't turn 30 until September.

--He's under team control for three more seasons (through 2028). The Red Sox avoided arbitration with him, so his $7.7 million contract for 2026 is already known.

--The All-Star MVP in 2024, Duran had a down, but still good, year in 2025. He hit .256 with 16 home runs, 84 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. He posted a 114 OPS+, leading the American League in triples for the second straight year (13).

--As was noted by Just Baseball, Duran is one of only four players to have at least 150 extra-base hits since 2024, joining Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. on that list.

At the heart of all of this, at least for the Red Sox, are the positional redundancies on the roster. With Duran, Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu, the team has four outfielders for three outfield spots plus the DH. Further complicating things is the presence of Masataka Yoshida, who can really only play DH himself.

That group is also very left-handed (four of five), leaving the Red Sox exposed in matchups with tough southpaws. Trading Duran wouldn't be because he's not a good player. The team has to find some way to alleviate its roster issues.

We recently heard that the Royals, who had also been interested in Duran, are not likely to trade for him. That leaves potential trade partners thin for the Red Sox if Houston is really not interested.

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