While the impending return of Masataka Yoshida will further aid the Red Sox’s surging offense, his presence only complicates an already-crowded outfield picture.
In Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu, the Red Sox entered the 2025 season with a trio of talented young outfielders locked into each three spots, but the startling progression of Rafaela, who has raised his OPS 130 points from his rookie season in addition to playing Platinum-Glove level defense in center field and Abreu, who has already surpassed his 2024 home run total in 53 less games, made the unit arguably the best in all of Major League Baseball. Adding to the embarrassment of riches was the June call-up of Roman Anthony, the top prospect in baseball who has slashed .383/.431/.553 over his last 11 games.
Since Anthony’s call-up and the shocking trade of Rafael Devers, the Red Sox have rotated the four players through the three outfield spots and the DH position, with platoon specialist Rob Refsnyder mixing in against lefties. The return of Yoshida, however, takes away that DH avenue, leaving the Red Sox with six starting-caliber players for just four spots.
The embarrassment of riches in the Red Sox outfield has led many to believe that a trade could be looming, and most have pointed to Jarren Duran as the odd man out. After finishing eighth in the Most Valuable Player Award voting last year, Duran has taken a massive step back in 2025 on both sides of the ball, seeing his OPS drop by nearly 100 points and accumulating -6 Outs Above Average in left field. Without Rafaela’s defense, Abreu’s power, Anthony’s offensive upside or Yoshida’s unmovable contract, Duran looks to be the most expendable of the group, and the rampant trade rumors have not helped the feeling that he could be playing his last games in a Red Sox uniform.
Duran, however, got good news on Tuesday night when it was announced that Nate Eaton would be the one optioned to open up a roster spot for Yoshida, and a recent report by The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier provided further encouragement that he will stick on the Red Sox roster.
“Given the talent and remaining years of control of both players, the Sox seem unlikely to trade (Duran or Abreu) for anything short of an impact big leaguer in return — and in particular, one who was both under team control for multiple years and addressed a roster and organizational shortcoming,” Speier wrote.
Of course, this hardly means that teams will stop calling the Red Sox about these players as the trade deadline looms, and things could change if a team is willing to dangle a controllable starting pitcher that can help the club in their postseason push. Yet with their offense averaging over eight runs per game since June 28 and manager Alex Cora pushing all the right buttons, the Red Sox seem content in mixing and matching their outfield depth for the time being, even if it means that at least two good players will be starting on the bench every game.
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