Red Sox Have Non-Jarren Duran Trade Chip Everyone Should Want

The Boston Red Sox should already be looking at the trade market.

May 19, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran (16) rounds second base in the fifth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-Imagn Images | Peter Aiken-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox have two straight wins under their belt and now are back over .500 with interim manager Chad Tracy leading the charge.

Boston was 10-17 when Alex Cora was fired. After taking down the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night, the Red Sox have a 21-27 record and have moved past the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East standings. The Red Sox are 11-10 under Tracy so far and are tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for third place in the division, although both are 11 1/2 games out of first place.

Despite a terrible start to the 2026 season, the Red Sox are just two games out of an American League Wild Card spot. Boston can get better with the most obvious way to do so by finding a way to add offense in the trade market. On Tuesday, we broke down four trade targets for Boston to consider, outside of Isaac Paredes. Naturally, Jarren Duran has been speculated as a trade candidate. But if he continues to look like he did on Tuesday night it certainly would make sense for Boston to hold onto him and address the outfield logjam in the offseason.

The Red Sox Have A Tommy Kahnle Decision To Make Soon

Mar 8, 2026; Miami, FL, United States; Israel pitcher Tommy Kahnle (43) looks on toward catcher C.J. Stubbs (not pictured) after the game against Nicaragua at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Even if the Red Sox don't opt to move Duran, they still have a trade chip that they can afford to give up and teams around the league should be all over: veteran reliever Tommy Kahnle.

Now, Kahnle hasn't pitched in the majors yet this season, but that doesn't mean that he isn't valuable. Kahnle is an 11-year big league veteran with a career 3.61 ERA in 456 total appearances. Right now, he's down in Triple-A and pitching very well for the Worcester Red Sox. Kahnle has pitched in 13 games so far this season and has a 1.88 ERA in 14 1/3 innings of work. Frankly, he arguably should be up in the majors right now. But the Red Sox do have the second-best bullpen ERA in baseball at 3.03, so it's hard to argue against their methods.

Ryan Watson has pitched a bit better of late, but has a 5.86 ERA in 17 appearances. Arguably, the experiment should wrap up with Kahnle coming up to the majors. He can opt out of his deal with Boston on June 1. He's pitching well down in the minors and Watson has struggled this season. The easy answer is to promote Kahnle to the majors so the club doesn't risk losing him.

If the team doesn't view Kahnle as a piece for the big league bullpen, they should absolutely shop him as fast as possible. Good bullpen help is a luxury in the trade market. Every year you see relievers get traded ahead of the trade deadline. It's a bit early, but his opt-out does complicate matters.

If the Red Sox don't want to promote Kahnle, there is a contender out there that certainly would like to have him in their bullpen. This is a guy who has been great in the majors for years and has plenty of playoff experience. Any team should want him.