Trade rumors have followed Jarren Duran over a few offseasons and trade deadlines now, and it could be the ideal time for the Boston Red Sox to make a move. Roman Anthony made his debut in 2025 and played like the future face of the franchise he’s expected to be, which could be enough to push Duran from the future outfield picture.

Wilyer Abreu has also been mentioned as a trade candidate by multiple sources, but most of the rumors around the Sox’s outfield tend to involve Duran. Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report perfectly demonstrated Duran’s wide appeal — he created a list of potential trades with different suitors across the league, with Boston’s return ranging from Braxton Ashcraft and Jared Triolo from the Pirates, Emmett Sheehan from the Dodgers, and Bryce Miller and Michael Arroyo from the Mariners.

All of Rymer’s examples feature different interpretations of Duran’s value. Ashcraft and Sheehan aren’t exactly proven in the big leagues, but Miller has shown he has the stuff to be one of the best young pitchers in the game (playing half his games at T-Mobile Park probably doesn’t hurt).

Boston’s front office may also interpret Duran’s value differently than some of the interested suitors, and not in a good way. ESPN insiders Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan reported that the Red Sox have based Duran’s trade value more on his 2024 season than his 2025 work: “The Red Sox are valuing Duran more like the seven-win player of 2024 than his 4-win version in 2025,” McDaniel and Passan wrote.

Red Sox could find it hard to trade Jarren Duran this winter if ESPN’s reoprt of hid valuation is correctEmpty heading

Unfortunately for the Red Sox, that isn’t how trades work. They can make whatever demands they want in a potential Duran trade, but that doesn’t mean another team will bite.

Duran posted an excellent 2024 season, during which he logged 6.8 fWAR between his offense, including dangerous speed on the base paths, and outstanding defense. He hasn’t rivaled that production again and posted 3.9 fWAR in his second-best season, 2025. Two seasons ago, Duran showed he has a high ceiling, but he hasn’t shown he can be consistent in achieving it.

All good negotiations begin with teams overvaluing their own assets and working their way to a middle ground (or something closer to it). The Red Sox will be hard-pressed to find a team that values Duran as a seven-WAR player — the Royals have reportedly already denied a Duran trade because they thought Boston’a price was too high.

In all of Rymer’s projected Duran trades, Duran is the only player the Red Sox would offer. Realistically, they’ll more than likely have to include other players to net the returns they seek, especially a quality starting pitcher. Payton Tolle, Connelly Early, Jhostynxon Garcia and Franklin Arias are some of the players frequently included alongside Duran in trade proposals.

The Red Sox could find it exceedingly difficult to trade Duran this winter if McDaniel and Passan’s report about his internal valuation is true. Not every team will see the outfielder with the same amount of potential, and Boston needs to get real about what that potential is if it hopes to trade Duran to clear the outfield logjam.