Inside The Red Sox

Alex Cora Sounds Off On Red Sox All-Star's Brutal Start: 'All Over The Place'

There are a whole lot of slumps going on at once in Boston...
Jackson Roberts|
Apr 10, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran (16) hits a single against the Toronto Blue Jays during the third inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images
Apr 10, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran (16) hits a single against the Toronto Blue Jays during the third inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

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Boston Red Sox

One never wants to go full doomsday in April, but the Boston Red Sox are making it difficult to be optimistic about their offense.

Since scoring 18 runs on Sunday Night Baseball on Apr. 6, the Red Sox have scored just 14 runs in eight games. It's easier to list the players who aren't struggling than those who are, and the man who is supposed to be leading the charge at the top of the lineup has fallen into a deep malaise.

Outfielder Jarren Duran hasn't looked much like the breakout star of the 2024 season so far. He's yet to hit a home run, one of just 26 qualified hitters in major league baseball without one, and after racking up 8.7 bWAR last season, he's got -0.1 this year through 17 games played.

So what is going wrong for Duran at the plate? If you listen to manager Alex Cora, just about everything.

“All over the place,” Cora said Monday, per Christopher Smith of MassLive. “Sometimes patient, sometimes too aggressive. He’s getting into swing mode in certain at-bats and swinging and missing a lot. That’s the reality of it.”

Per Smith, Cora also said Duran needs to concentrate on driving the ball to the opposite field, which was a strength of his not only all of last season, but on the team's opening road trip this year.

“He did it in Texas. He did it in Baltimore,” Cora said. “So Hopefully we can accomplish that.”

Some metrics like hard-hit rate or xWOBA might have suggested before the season that Duran was due for a step back. But no one expects him to keep up his current slash line--.230/.284/.297.

There are lots of things that could help break the Red Sox out of their current funk, but nothing would help more than getting their catalyst back at the top of the order.

More MLB: Red Sox Trade Idea Ships Slumping 24-Year-Old To Dodgers To Bring Up Roman Anthony

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Jackson Roberts
JACKSON ROBERTS

Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Boston Red Sox On SI, please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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