It's June, and somehow the Houston Astros are once again running the show in the American League West.
It hasn't always been pretty. And this Astros team certainly isn't as dominant as some of its predecessors. But they're currently riding a five-game winning streak, surging to 41-30 with a 4 1/2-game lead in the division.
The Astros will undoubtedly be buyers at the trade deadline, which means those Framber Valdez trade rumors can mercifully be put to bed. And if there's anything they seemingly need, it's one more outfielder who can help uplift a middling offense while enabling José Altuve to move back to his natural position of second base.
One outfielder who seems like a possible addition is Boston Red Sox star Jarren Duran, which is shocking given Duran's amazing season in 2024. But he's the oldest of the Boston outfield group, and with top prospect Roman Anthony arriving in the big leagues, there are four players occupying three starting spots.
On Saturday, content creator Jim Riley published a YouTube video in which he predicted that Boston would trade Duran to the Astros at this year's Jul. 31 deadline.
"The Houston Astros... could pull off this deal," Riley said. "Send some pitching to Boston. Send pieces that could help Boston either right away this year, or definitely next year, and... open up playing time for the younger players that they're calling up.
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"I see a way here that we can get this deal done to help both teams as soon as this year. From Houston's perspective, acquiring Jarren Duran, he goes to left field, you never have to worry about Altuve in left field again... checks all of the boxes."
Duran, who put up a remarkable 8.7 bWAR in 2024, has been off to a slower start this year. He's slashing .264/.316/.419 with five home runs and 14 stolen bases, and his defense has also been a bit shakier than it was when he was a Gold Glove finalist a year ago.
Still, it's rare a player of Duran's caliber is available, especially with three-and-a-half years to go until he hits free agency. The Red Sox don't necessarily have to trade him, but if they don't, they'll have all of their outfielders constantly looking over their shoulder at the rest of the depth chart.
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