Royals could make the Red Sox regret holding onto Jarren Duran

The Kansas City Royals are looking to capitalize on their window of contention while their core led by Bobby Witt Jr. is still under contract. This means they will all but surely be back to the drawing board following a 93-loss season as they look to recapture some of that 2024 magic in 2027. While there's no shortage of areas they could look to improve upon, for yet another offseason the outfield is on that list.

And for the second-straight offseason, it appears Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran could once again be a trade target for them. Recently, former MLB executive Jim Bowden and his son and GM Territory show co-host Trey Bowden, pitched the idea of the Royals going back to the trade market before the likely lockout and bringing in Duran.

However, after an overall forgettable season for Duran -- where he hit just .207 with a measly .627 OPS and a well below average 69 wRC+ -- the Red Sox have their hands tied if they look to trade their former All-Star outfielder. Pair that with the fact he has one less year of team control than he did when they started shopping him last season and their dream of really cashing in on Duran may be out of reach.

Now, Ragans didn't exactly live up to expectations himself following last year's trade rumors after undergoing another Tommy John surgery. However, it seems only reasonable to think he wasn't the only starter Boston's front office called about when discussing Duran with prospective buyers. That has to sting for the Red Sox with the early offseason months now upon us.

Jarren Duran struggled in 2026, but could still transform Royals' outfield

For the Royals, this is an ideal situation for them -- even if Duran looked like a shell of himself at the plate last season. He's even more affordable and with Isaac Collins and Kyle Isbel not exactly setting the world ablaze and solidifying their spots in the lineup, there's plenty of reason to believe he's still a clear upgrade over either of them.

Starting with the pedigree, in the three seasons before 2026, Duran had consistently been a 113-132 wRC+ hitter. On top of that, he was building himself up into a unique power and speed threat, sitting four homers short in 2025 of capturing a 20-20 season in three consecutive campaigns. For a team that finished in the bottom third of the league in homers last season that also prides themselves with being strong on the basepaths, Duran offers a unique way to improve this lineup while also further strengthening some strong points.

And there's still reason to believe that Duran has plenty left to offer even if the back of the baseball card-stats looked weaker last season. The quality of contact rates took a definite dip compared to other facets of his game. However, he could easily build on a still strong 84th percentile bat speed as well as raise not egregiously low 45th and 60th percentile marks in hard-hit and barrel rate, respectively. A change of scenery may be all it takes.

Duran also still held a 90th percentile clip in sprint speed and maintained himself as a 20+ stolen base threat in any given season. He's also still a plus defender with 89th percentile range and well above average arms strength with 69th percentile arm strength in 2026.

The Red Sox were shopping him for a reason last year and they're once again spoiled for choice in the outfield in 2027 with Roman Anthony, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela and Masataka Yoshida still featuring in the OF/DH mix alongside Duran. There's only so many spots to go around in a lineup, so perhaps the Royals give Duran the best shot to not only not feel like an afterthought, but an integral part of the lineup again.

Kansas City will currently enter 2027 with a heart of the order that features Witt, Maikel Garcia, Vinnie Pasquantino, Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen. Someone with the offensive capabilities of Duran could look nice leading that group off or simply hitting amongst them -- both of which he has the experience doing at the major league level.

Is it the safest of options for the Royals in the outfield? No, any hitter coming off a year where they're flirting with the Mendoza line will always carry some element of risk. However, he's clearly an upgrade with a recognizable name -- making him precisely the kind of name Royals fans have been clamoring for for some time now. The price may now finally be right for Kansas City to make their move -- now that it's likely not for their presumptive ace.

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