Caleb Durbin Causes Stir in Red Sox Nation With Swing Coach

Just another day in Boston...

Apr 27, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Red Sox thrid baseman Caleb Durbin (5) hits an RBI single against the Toronto Blue Jays in the sixth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Whatever works to get out of a slump.

That's the philosophy of most baseball players, and that seemed to be the philosophy for Boston Red Sox third baseman Caleb Durbin, who spent most of this season at the bottom of the major league list of OPS leaders. He fell off that list this week due to falling below the plate appearance threshold to qualify.

But Durbin also raised that OPS from .479 to .505 with two solid games, and a hitting facility that's unaffiliated with the Red Sox organization is claiming credit.

Durbin working with Gradum Gswing midseason

May 22, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Caleb Durbin (5) runs to second base during the fourth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

On Friday, in the middle of the game against the Cleveland Guardians, the Gradum Gswing account on X posted a video of recent work with Durbin at the business' facility in Andover, Mass. Durbin had an RBI double already in Friday's contest after going 2-for-4 on Thursday, which Gradum reported to be his first game after working out at the facility.

See if you can spot the Red Sox On SI mention in the clip.

Caleb Durbin was hitting .147 on the season and had gone 2-for-26 over his last 12 games.

So he came into Gradum.

We broke down the data, made the adjustments, and got to work.

A few days later, Durbin is now 3-for-7 with 2 doubles

Teach. Train. Transfer.@gingersnaphyde… pic.twitter.com/MghParLJE3

— Gradum Gswing™️ (@GradumGswing) May 30, 2026

This isn't Gradum Gswing's first publicly documented experience with a Red Sox hitter this season. In April, the facility purported to help Carlos Narváez out of an early-season slump, publishing a 6 1/2-minute YouTube video about his workout at the facility.

Ultimately, the work Narváez has done this season hasn't taken hold, as he's put up a .577 OPS in May to bring his season figure to .605.

Red Sox fans are quick to take the bait when it comes to blaming the organization for player development failures, so the comments sections on Gradum's social media clips and aggregations of the clip have all been quite negative toward the team.

"It’s hilarious how almost everyone on the Red Sox has to go out of the organization to figure out what’s wrong with them," one angry user wrote.

Ultimately, whatever works for Durbin should be what works for the Red Sox. He's under team control for 5 1/2 more years, and filling Rafael Devers' and Alex Bregman's shoes as the starting third baseman could weigh on anyone coming to Boston for the first time.