Red Sox Could Cut Ties With Jarren Duran In Trade For Twins Ace: Insider

Trade rumors were a huge part of the story of the Boston Red Sox's season, so it's almost no surprise that they've turned their game up since the July deadline.

Boston reached 14 games over .500 with its win over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night, and outfielders Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela sparked the game-winning rally. Duran, in particular, was the subject of trade speculation all year, though it almost seemed to help his game in the month of July.

But while Duran is safe for the rest of the year, is there still a strong chance he gets dealt this offseason to solve the Boston outfield logjam?

Will Red Sox trade Jarren Duran for Joe Ryan this winter?

The Red Sox were known to be pursuing Minnesota Twins All-Star starting pitcher Joe Ryan right up until the deadline. Ultimately, their desire not to include a major league outfielder, like Duran or Wilyer Abreu, may have wound up preventing a deal from taking shape.

On Wednesday, however, insider Ian Browne of MLB.com wrote in response to a reader's question that he could easily see the Red Sox pursuing Ryan again this winter, and that Duran might well be involved in that deal.

"I think it is absolutely on the table," Browne wrote. "The Crochet trade from last winter is somewhat of a blueprint, though I feel Crochet is a touch more dominant. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow traded four of the team’s top 15 prospects, as rated at the time by MLB Pipeline, to get Crochet.

"They might be able to reduce the prospect load by putting a Major Leaguer in the deal. Jarren Duran comes to mind for sure, given how deep the Sox are in the outfield with Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu."

And not that this is necessarily an indication that the Red Sox are planning to dump Duran, but Boston has been playing Kristian Campbell in the outfield rather than at first base much more often over the last couple of weeks at Triple-A. Campbell, Rafaela, Abreu, and Anthony would remain one of the most talented outfields in the sport.

Trade negotiations can work out in so many different ways. Maybe the Sox can get Ryan without trading Duran, or maybe Duran will be on the block regardless of whether Boston gets Ryan or not.

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