MLB Mock Blockbuster Trade: Boston Red Sox Deal Jarren Duran to Philadelphia Phillies

The 2025 baseball season is now one month away from the MLB trade deadline. But the Boston Red Sox have proven over recent years that they are willing to execute a blockbuster trade at any time of the year.

The Red Sox traded third baseman Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in the middle of June. Since then, pundits have suggested outfielder Jarren Duran could be next.

ESPN's Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan placed the likelihood of a Duran trade on the lower end of possibilities last week. But the pair of MLB insiders still named the Philadelphia Phillies, among others, potential suitors for the outfielder.

Let's explore the possibility of Duran landing with the Phillies.

Boston Red Sox-Philadelphia Phillies Mock Trade

Boston Red Sox receive No. 4 Phillies prospect and catcher Eduardo Tait and No. 10 Phillies prospect and outfielder Gabriel Rincones Jr.

Philadelphia Phillies receive Jarred Duran

The Phillies have such an obvious hole in left field that it seems like giving up two top 10 prospects for Duran would be a no-brainer.

The concern for any team interested in the Red Sox outfielder is that Duran isn't repeating his 2024 All-Star season this year. In 2025, he has a .252/.309/.402 slash line with just five home runs in 386 plate appearances. Last season, Duran had an OPS 123 points higher than the .711 OPS he possesses this summer.

But the analytics suggest he's experienced bad luck after fortunate bounces last season.

"Duran had a huge breakout season in 2024, posting the seventh-best WAR in the majors at 6.7," McDaniel and Passan wrote. "He overperformed his underlying metrics, though -- i.e., had some lucky outcomes -- and those metrics have regressed a bit this year.

"Now he's underperforming them -- he has been unlucky -- so his true talent is somewhere south of that star-level 6.7 figure but better than the roughly 2 WAR (commensurate with a solid regular) he's on pace for this season."

Maybe a change of scenary would jump start Duran for the second half of the season.

In Philadelphia, he would easily slot into the every day left fielder role. Duran could add punch to the top of the Phillies lineup or lengthen the order in the No. 5 or 6 spot.

With the Phillies pushing for a title again in 2025, they are unlikely to want to send anything from the major league club back to Boston. The Red Sox, though, might not want that anyway and could be interested in catcher and outfield depth in the minor leagues.

Tait is already the fourth-ranked Phillies prospect at just 18 years old. He is catching at Single-A this season.

Rincones could be a future Duran replacement. Rincones is 24 years old and playing at Triple-A. Original projections before the season had Rincones making his MLB debut this summer, but he is batting .208 with a .697 OPS at Lehigh Valley.

Perhaps a change of scenery helps him too.

Duran is under club contract through the 2028 season. So, maybe the Red Sox ask for another prospect from the Phillies for the outfielder since he's not a rental player. Or, perhaps Philadelphia could land Duran for Tait and a second higher-rated prospect.

Regardless of the compensation, Duran should be an intriguing target for the Phillies because he plugs the last big hole in the team's lineup.

Fantasy managers should support the move too. Duran's opportunities for runs and RBI would improve in Philadelphia no matter where he hits. If he's at the top of the order, he's will score more runs than he would the second half of this season in Boston.

Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber hit first and second, respectively, in the Phillies lineup. So, more than likely, Duran would hit fifth or sixth with Philadelphia. In that scenario, he would drive in more runs.

Either way, Duran would have an opportunity for more fantasy production in a better lineup such as the Phillies.