Boston Red Sox still have MLB’s No. 1 trade chip, experts say

Even after shocking the baseball world by trading Rafael Devers, the Boston Red Sox may still have the biggest piece at the MLB trade deadline table.

On Wednesday, The Athletic released its “MLB trade deadline big board,” which ranks players who could be moved by the trade deadline next month. Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran was ranked No. 1 on the board.

The Athletic’s trio of reporters who put out the big board don’t believe a deal is likely. The big board graded the likelihood of a player being traded on a red-yellow-green system, with red meaning unlikely and green meaning likely.

Duran got a “yellow” grade. In their eyes, it would take a huge return for Boston to move on from Duran.

“To be clear: There’s little reason for Boston to even entertain offers for Duran unless the return is substantial,” per The Athletic. “His production has predictably fallen short of his 2024 breakout, but Duran remains a solidly above-average hitter with lots of speed and the ability to play center field.”

The Red Sox have a bit of a logjam in the outfield, which played a large part in top prospect Roman Anthony’s delayed debut at the major league level.

An injury to Wilyer Abreu opened the door for Anthony to crack the lineup. But with Abreu on track to return, the Red Sox will have to start making hard decisions.

The Athletic noted that Boston could certainly continue to build around the 2024 All-Star. However, the fact that Duran is under team control until 2028 could make him an enticing trade target for other teams.

Duran’s name has been popping up in trade rumors for a while, with the Padres emerging as a top candidate early on.

Would the Red Sox actually trade Duran after already moving on from the centerpiece of the lineup? That will likely depend on how the team does over the next month or so.

Boston is back over .500 after a recent surge. But if the Red Sox start sagging in the standings again, we could see the team turn into sellers at the deadline.

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