Red Sox Facing Tricky Jarren Duran Decision Following Roman Anthony News
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The Boston Red Sox's eight-year, $130 million extension for rookie Roman Anthony is full of implications for the rest of the roster.
Certainly, locking up Anthony could allow the Red Sox to pursue big names from outside the organization. And it also lets them concentrate on more extensions, which have become a theme for the front office under chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.
Breslow has now worked out deals to buy out free-agent years for Brayan Bello, Ceddanne Rafaela, Kristian Campbell, Garrett Crochet, and Roman Anthony since taking over the front office before last season.
BOSTON, MA - JULY 25: Jarren Duran #16 of the Boston Red Sox is congratulated in the dugout after scoring against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the third inning at Fenway Park on July 25,...
BOSTON, MA - JULY 25: Jarren Duran #16 of the Boston Red Sox is congratulated in the dugout after scoring against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the third inning at Fenway Park on July 25, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. MoreBut All-Star outfielder Jarren Duran has been notably absent from most extension talks. Is there any shot that could still happen for the 28-year-old at some point?
On Thursday, Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe discussed several notable extension candidates for the Red Sox, noting that the team would face a particularly difficult decision at some point with Duran.
"Jarren Duran is an interesting case. He turns 29 in September and can't become a free agent until after the 2028 season. He's also a player whose game is built around speed," Abraham wrote. "Projecting what kind of player Duran will be when he's 32 or 33 is difficult."
If Duran came up at Anthony's age, it would be a no-brainer to lock him in long-term. But now, with three years still to go before he hits free agency, he seems to be far more likely to get traded than extended.
Still, Breslow has been on an extension tear recently, so while those trade rumors are sure to return this winter, it wouldn't be a total shock to see Duran stick around an extra year or two past free agency.
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