After signing Adolis Garcia as a free agent, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski says he envisions his starting 2026 outfield consisting of Garcia, Brandon Crawford, Brandon Marsh,
and likely a righthanded platoon partner for Marsh. But with Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran lingering on the trade market, it’s worth wondering if the Phillies should consider trading for him to handle one of the spots.
The background
Duran reached the major leagues with the Red Sox in 2021 but didn’t hit the ground running. The lefthanded outfielder had an OPS of .578 in 33 games in 2021, and that rose to just .645 the following year.
But he developed into a positive value player in 2023 and then made the leap to All-Star in 2024. He doesn’t have prolific home run power (38 combined home runs the past two years), but he can get the ball into the gaps. He led the league in doubles and triples in 2024, and once again topped the AL in triples in 2025.
His numbers were down somewhat in 2025, but was still an effective offensive player, getting on base at a .332 rate with 24 stolen bases.
Duran was a below average defender his first two years in the league, but has graded out well the past two seasons, although there have been complaints of inconsistency out there.
Why he might be available
The Red Sox have a surplus of outfielders (Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu) and the thought is that they might try to trade one of them to improve their rotation.
Why he might not be available
Surplus or not, the Red Sox might not be in the position to trade away good hitters in their lineup. All the trade rumors surrounding Duran indicate that the Sox are looking for a front-of-the-rotation pitcher, so while they might be listening to offers, they don’t seem ready to just give him away.
Should the Phillies trade for him?
I feel similar to the way I did about Steven Kwan: I don’t think Duran is enough of an upgrade in left field to be worth the asking price. He’s not as bad as Brandon Marsh against lefthanded pitching, but he certainly hasn’t been good either.
The Red Sox would assuredly want Andrew Painter as part of the return, and there’s no way I’m paying that price for a good, not great player who might be a liability against lefthanded pitching.
