Jarren Duran has always been a polarizing player for the Boston Red Sox, and that was on full display once again on Thursday night.
During a sixth-inning at-bat while their game against the Athletics was knotted at three, Duran hit a fly ball to shallow left field. Willson Contreras, on third base, began running home before quickly turning back, knowing he may not be able to beat out the throw.
That didn’t sit well with Duran, who couldn’t hold in his displeasure after Contreras decided not to tag up and try to score.
Duran was, of course, asked about his reaction postgame, to which he tried to downplay the situation:
“That’s nothing. It’s something that within the team we have, we work on, and it’s nothing like you guys don’t need to know. Nobody needs to know. That’s something between us and the team that we know what’s about, so that doesn’t really matter… Yeah, I f****** suck. Of course I’m f****** pissed at myself. I gotta do a f****** job for this team,”
The 29-year-old Duran has hit 13 HRs and 54 RBI while batting .195 across 101 games played so far this season.
On the other hand, Contreras handled the situation very well, coming to Duran’s defense:
“I wasn’t sure. I mean, I love Jarren. He’s one of the guys that plays with emotion, plays 100%. We love him here. And he’s one of the guys that if I need to go to war, I’m gonna pick him because he’s gonna give his 100%. I saw him doing some stuff. I would never take that personal. I love the guy, and we need the guy here. We need his energy. And I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him yet, but it’s nothing personal,”
Boston went on to win the game 5-4, which is most important as they continue their push for the postseason. That being said, Duran’s outburst, to no surprise, was the No. 1 talking point around the team and baseball world in the aftermath.
Duran’s name has popped up in trade rumors numerous times throughout his Red Sox tenure, and with just 3 days until the August 3 deadline, it’s fair to question whether Thursday night’s antics could further persuade Craig Breslow to move the star outfielder.
