Boston Red Sox: Time to promote Jarren Duran

The Boston Red Sox have been one of the biggest surprises in the majors this season. Not only are they atop the AL East, but the offense has been humming along, leading the AL in runs and OPS. They have gotten contributions from virtually everywhere, except for left field.

Franchy Cordero has been a disaster thus far for the Red Sox. He had produced a .170/.223/.239 batting line in 95 plate appearances entering Saturday, hitting just six doubles while striking out 35 times. It is clear that the Red Sox need more production from that spot in the lineup. Fortunately, they have a possible answer already in their system in Jarren Duran.

It is time for the Boston Red Sox to promote Jarren Duran

Duran had caught the attention of the baseball world during spring training, when he began March on a torrid run. Although he cooled down as the Grapefruit League continued, he had seemingly done enough to earn a role in the lineup. Instead, the Red Sox sent him to Triple-A, presumably to manage service time and because he had just 82 games above A-ball.

Duran has put together a decent start to his time in Worcester. Heading into Saturday, he had a .242/.347/.532 batting line in his 72 plate appearances, hitting five homers and stealing four bases. However, his performance on Saturday, when he was 5-5 with two monstrous homers, showed that he is ready for the next step.

At this point, the Red Sox do not need to worry about that extra year of team control. Duran would be a Super Two player at best, but even that may not be the case. Given their postseason desires, the Red Sox need all of the production they can get. Duran would certainly appear to be an upgrade.

There is a bit of risk with such a move. Cordero is an intriguing player in his own right, with the type of tools that make teams dream of what he could be if he puts everything together. While he has displayed flashes, he is not consistent enough to be a starting outfielder on a playoff caliber team. Duran simply has more upside, and could immediately make a greater impact.

The Boston Red Sox need to do something about their lack of production in left field. It is time to bring Jarren Duran to the majors.