New Jarren Duran-Astros Report Music to Red Sox Fans' Ears

The Boston Red Sox are always looking around for ways to add talent to the organization.

That certainly is the case right now with an Alex Bregman-sized hole in the infield. Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow made it clear that the team is open to a move and noted that a willingness to trade from its team's depth.

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"We'll continue to look at ways to improve the team," Breslow said. "If that means potentially talking about trading from an area of depth in order to address another roster need, it's something that we're going to be willing to hear out and be open-minded to. We talked the beginning of the offseason that free agency and trades and internal development were three ways to improve our team. We'll try to leverage all three."

Will Jarren Duran be with the Red Sox in 2026?

Sep 19, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran (16) is congratulated after hitting a two-run home run during the seventh inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Unsurprisingly, this led to chatter about the surplus of outfielders the team has. Jarren Duran has had his name out there all offseason in various reports and speculation. While unlikely, one player the club reportedly had some interest in is Isaac Paredes of the Houston Astros. So, naturally, speculation began about the idea of flipping these two. It appears to be nothing more than just that.

On Friday, former Fox 26 anchor and current host of "Kickin' it with Kunkel," Will Kunkel reported that the Astros are not in trade talks for Duran.

"The Houston Astros are not in trade talks for Red Sox OF Jarren Duran, per source," Kunkel wrote.

Chandler Rome of The Athletic shared on the "Crush City Territory" podcast that Wilyer Abreu actually "maybe intrigues" the Astros more than Duran. But at the end of the day, none of this noise matters if Paredes is not an option for Boston. Both Sean McAdam of MassLive.com and Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic downplayed the idea of a move because he isn't a great defender. So, at the end of the day, the rumors about the outfielders don't matter if Paredes isn't an option. But, it is nice to hear Boston reportedly isn't shopping Duran to the Astros, at least at the moment. Plus, this is for the best, anyway. Duran is a star with years of control left. Arguably, the Red Sox shouldn't move on.

More MLB: Red Sox Insiders Address Ongoing Isaac Paredes Rumors