Jarren Duran makes pitch for Juan Soto to join Red Sox; feels front office will make notable additions to roster
Jarren Duran likes the idea of Juan Soto potentially sharing the outfield with him at Fenway Park next season.
Boston met with Soto on Thursday in southern California for three hours and made their opening pitch to the free agent slugger. The Red Sox aren’t the only suitor for Soto, but that hasn’t stopped Duran from thinking he’d be a good fit in the lineup along with him.
“I think he’d hit pretty good,” Duran said in an appearance on MLB Network. “I feel like he’d abuse that Monster in left field, like he has against a couple of times. That would be fun to see.”
Soto played in New York last season, helping to lead the Yankees to the World Series. However, during the season, he didn’t fair to well hitting at Fenway Park; he only hit 182 over six games. Over those six games, he did own a .400 on-base percentage and a .900 OPS with a double and two homers in those games. In nine games at Fenway Park, he’s hit .216 with three homers.
If the Red Sox added Soto, he would be another left-handed hitter in their already left-handed heavy lineup. Duran isn’t worried about that and is eager to be in the lineup with his teammates in 2025.
“I don’t think so,” Duran said when asked if a team could have too many lefties in the lineup. “I mean, it is baseball. But at the end of the day, we are athletes, and we can adjust to the lefties if we need to. If you can hit, you can hit. But, you know, that’s not my territory; that’s the front office’s territory to deal with. I’m just here to hang out with the boys and have fun with whoever they put in that lineup.”
The Red Sox could make a trade to not be so left-handed heavy in their lineup. Wilyer Abreu’s name has been swirling around this winter, especially in a potential deal for White Sox lefty Garrett Crochet.
Duran believes the Red Sox aren’t that far behind the Yankees and feels his team can reach similar heights next season and beyond.
“We’ve got to give them the respect,” Duran said. “They’re a good team. We aren’t going to disrespect them in any way. They’re a really good team. They earned to get where they are. It just fuels our fire because our division is so tough. It’s like, alright, we competed against those guys, and they made it all the way to the World Series. If we competed with them really good, then hopefully we can get there one day.”
The Red Sox haven’t been in the playoffs since 2021 but played like a contender over the first four months of the 2024 season. The club ran out of gas towards the end of the season, tailing off in September.
Similar to Liam Hendriks, who feels the front office is going to go “full metal” this offseason, Duran does believe Breslow and his team will make notable additions to the roster this winter to help the team compete in 2025 and beyond.
“We’re such a competitive team,” Duran said when asked about what direction he’d like to see the team take this offseason. “I know we hit our bumps in the road, but we’re just so young. We were able to put our name out there on the map.
“I mean, I hear guys like Roman Anthony say they want to play the game hard like me. That means a lot to me, because it means I’m affecting the younger generation to want to play the game hard and the right way. Just hearing a guy like that who’s a stud and killing it makes me feel good.”
