Red Sox's Caleb Durbin Stares Down Possibility of Demotion

It's no secret this roster move could happen soon

May 5, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Caleb Durbin (5) looks to the umpire to see if he was safe sliding into third base against the Detroit Tigers in the third inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Caleb Durbin's tenure with the Boston Red Sox could hardly be off to a worse start, which is creating an awkward decision for the team to make.

Less than four months ago, Durbin was acquired in a trade meant to shore up the infield after the loss of Alex Bregman in free agency. The top piece the Red Sox dealt for him, Kyle Harrison, is pitching his way into All-Star contention for the Milwaukee Brewers. And he spent most of his first two months of the season in dead last in Major League Baseball in OPS before falling off the list of qualifiers this week.

He fell off that list because the Red Sox benched him in six of nine games, though he broke that streak by getting into the lineup against Chris Sale and the Atlanta Braves on Thursday. If he keeps struggling and the team doesn't see fit to start him much moving forward, it would be wiser to demote him to Triple-A.

What Durbin said about demotion possibility

May 14, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Caleb Durbin (5) throws the ball to first base for an out against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Durbin was fairly candid about that possibility on Wednesday when asked. He knows it's moved beyond his control somewhat, but he wants to stick on the major league roster (fairly obviously), and retains conviction that he can get back to playing winning baseball, like he did with the Brewers as a rookie last year.

“That stuff’s out of my hands,” Durbin said, per Christopher Smith of MassLive

“At the end of the day, I want to be here,” Durbin added. “I want to be in the fight with these guys. I’m happy to be a Red Sox, and I’m confident that moving forward, it will turn eventually. But it’s like you want it to turn right now.”

The Red Sox don't have a long-term financial investment in Durbin, but they have him under team control through the end of 2031. They've seen him be an above-average starting third baseman for a string of roughly 100 games, and they've got to do whatever helps him return to that caliber of play.

And if a demotion to Triple-A still isn't the solution, the Red Sox might still be glad they started trying something different as soon as they did. So in other words, Durbin's roster spot is the most important one to watch over the next few days.