Red Sox-Royals Mock Trade Sends Dynamic All-Star To Kansas City

Should the Royals call up their AL rivals?

Mar 5, 2019; West Palm Beach, FL, USA; A detailed view of a Boston Red Sox cap, sunglasses and glove in the dugout during a spring training game between the Washington Nationals and the Boston Red Sox at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Royals' outfield was hopelessly bad this season.

With -1.1 wins above replacement, per Fangraphs, the Royals had the league's least productive outfield by a mile. They were bringing in replacement-level players at times, but they were also getting disappointing contributions from veterans and top prospects alike.

It's a depth chart that still looks relatively bleak moving forward. That might necessitate the Royals making a trade acquisition that jump-starts the offense at the position this offseason.

Are Royals a fit for Jarren Duran?

There are a few teams around the league that have outfield depth charts overflowing with talent, and perhaps the Royals could use one of their surpluses as a means to add some level of a difference-maker.

On Monday, Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller identified the Boston Red Sox's Jarren Duran as the "most likely trade" target for the Royals to pursue this offseason.

"Though Kansas City has come a long way since its 106-loss disaster in 2023, its outfield has not, with an "as outfield" fWAR of 0.1 over the past two seasons combined," wrote Miller.

"Kyle Isbel is respectable enough in center and the hope is that Jac Caglianone has a far more productive 2026 in right field. Left field remains a gaping hole, though, and trading for someone like Duran or Cleveland's Steven Kwan could be a colossal move that shakes up the AL Central heading into next season."

Duran, 29, is under contract for three more years, and he's still not far removed from his breakout All-Star campaign of 2024. And it's not as though he was a net negative this year, putting up a .256/.332/.442 slash line and leading the American League with 13 triples.

So the question might be whether the Red Sox are willing to move Duran for a reasonable price, considering they have three other starting-caliber outfielders, or if they're still valuing him as the all-world stud he was in 2024.

And as an intriguing side note, the Royals have a strong surplus of major league starting pitching, which the Red Sox need and could target in a potential deal.

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