Jarren Duran will be called up to the Red Sox for Boston’s four-game series against the Yankees (multiple reports said), in New York, to kick off the second half of the season.
With the roster sitting at where it’s at currently, Duran will be replacing Marwin Gonzalez, who will be heading to the injured list.
Through his three seasons with Long Beach State, Duran played 169 games at second base, not playing one inning of the outfield, and played an additional 64 games at second with his two college summer league teams.
When he was picked in the seventh round of the 2018 MLB Draft, he played with both the Lowell Spinners, who are no longer affiliated with the Red Sox, and the Greenville Drive. He was transitioned into an outfielder when he got to the Red Sox, but still played 20 games at second base with the Lowell Spinners.
He hasn’t played infield since then.
Soxprospect.com‘s Ian Cundall brought up the idea of Kike Hernandez moving from center field to second base, and then possibly have Christian Arroyo, the current everyday second baseman, move to first base, and then have Duran fill in as the everyday centerfielder.
If Jarren Duran is headed for an everyday role in the outfield, then that pushes Kiké Hernández back into the infield, primarily at 2B. Because of that, I wonder if the Red Sox look to get Arroyo some reps at 1B, to see if that’s an option, to get him in the lineup as well.
— Ian Cundall (@IanCundall) July 14, 2021
But what if the Sox chose a different route, and moved Duran to be the everyday second baseman, and platooned Bobby Dalbec? With Dalbec’s righty vs. lefty pitcher splits, it creates a gaping hole at first base considering Dalbec is struggling mightily against right-handed pitching this season. Christian Arroyo moving to first base could be very much a possibility.
There’s plenty of questions for Alex Cora and the Red Sox to answer, as they take on the Yankees for a four-game weekend series. The question might be answered as soon as Thursday’s lineups are released, as they also have to figure out how they’ll use Tanner Houck — multiple reports say he’s getting called up too.
(Photo of Jarren Duran during a spring training game/Adam Glanzman/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
