Red Sox's Jarren Duran Gets Brutally Honest About Negativity From Fans, Media

Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran certainly is far removed from his star turn in 2024.

The breakout star of last season, Duran hasn't quite been the same caliber of player in his follow-up campaign. He's also had to hear his name constantly floated in trade rumors, as the presumptive fourth outfielder in Boston's absurdly talented, absurdly young lineup.

After winning All-Star Game Most Valuable Player honors and finishing eighth in American League MVP voting last year, Duran is currently slashing .259/.326/.440 - numbers that look a lot better after an excellent month of July.

Duran's struggles with self-doubt and depression are well-documented, as the 28-year-old detailed a failed attempt to take his own life in the Netflix documentary "The Clubhouse," that released in April. And as he's navigated a challenging season, Duran admits he's heard the negativity from fans and media.

“It’s kind of hard to not look at last year, because all the negative stuff I see is that I suck and I’m not what I was last year,” said Duran, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. “Everybody loves to talk about it, but at the same time it’s like, I don’t think these people realize how hard it is to be an All-Star Game MVP every single night. It’s just not humanly possible. This game is a game of failure. You fail more than you succeed. [But] knowing myself, I always see all the negative stuff."

But for as much pressure as one might think Duran deals with externally, the outfielder says he's even harder on himself. Accomplishing all he did last year didn't make him think he'd made it as a big-leaguer; it made him worried about having to live up to his newfound notoriety.

“It’s just how I am. I mean, honestly, when I won the All-Star Game MVP last year, I was happy about it, but at the same time, I was like, ‘Well, crap. I’m going to have to put this pressure on myself to be this player every single night,’” Duran said. “As dumb as it sounds, I was like, ‘Oh, [expletive].’ I’m just putting more pressure on my own self, like, ‘I’ve done this. Now I expect myself to do this every night.’”

There may still be those who want Duran traded, but based on a report from WEEI's Rob Bradford, it seems the Red Sox are done entertaining any ideas of moving him, so that's one less thing to worry about the rest of the way.

If he can keep building his self-confidence and ignore the voices telling him what he can't do, he just might get to play in October.