Jarren Duran Is Right About Red Sox's Struggles, But Fans Won't Like It

Things can only be so bad in April... right?

Apr 12, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story (10) and left fielder Jarren Duran (16) celebrate after the Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox could hardly be disappointing their fans more than they already are in 2026, but Jarren Duran isn't giving up hope.

After the team's 4-1 loss to the New York Yankees, its fourth defeat in five games, Duran assessed the situation and expressed his beliefs as to why things were going so wrong for a Boston team that had high expectations, but finished play on Wednesday in last place at 9-15.

“I’d say we’re putting pressure on ourselves. I think that we’re just trying to do too much. We’re trying to dig ourselves out of a hole," Duran said, per Christopher Smith of MassLive. "But at the end of the day, I mean, we’re not really in a hole. It’s still early. We still have so much time to just play baseball. And I feel like that’s when we’re at our best, is when we’re just playing.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Duran's comments hold water... until they don't

Apr 22, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; New York Yankees third baseman Amed Rosario (14) hits a three run home run against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

"I have complete faith in this team," Duran concluded, per Smith. "We’ve shown a lot of life before, and I know we can do it again."

Duran put up three hits on Wednesday night, and it's still so early in the season that his batting average jumped from .162 to .194, while his OPS+ went up from 43 to 64. Obviously, the new numbers are still bad, but they illustrate the point that 24 games really still isn't a statistically significant sample in the majors.

But anyone who's watched most or all of those 24 games can say with confidence that this offense has more black hole potential than pretty much any Red Sox team in recent memory, or at least any of them that had ambitions of competing for the playoffs.

At some point this season, the Red Sox's hitters will probably all start to click at once. The question is whether they can do it for a long enough period to wipe away the deficit they're currently carving out for themselves.

Duran believes they can do it, clearly. Is he right?