Red Sox avoid horrible situation with former MVP

The Boston Red Sox won’t lose one of their young star players, and also avoided a significant hurdle to signing that star.

Boston will avoid the arbitration process with outfield sensation Jarren Duran.

The team signed Duran to a one-year deal that averts the dreaded process and keeps him in Beantown for at least one more season.

“The Red Sox today signed OF Jarren Duran to a one-year contract for the 2025 season, with a club option for 2026,” the team announced on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.

Duran had his best season to date in 2024. The Red Sox outfielder hit .285/.342/.492 with 21 home runs and 111 runs scored. He was named an American League All-Star and won the game’s Most Valuable Player award after a prodigious performance.

Duran belted a go-ahead home run for the AL to help nab the award.

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The Red Sox outfielder turns 29 later this year, so he’ll be in his age 30 season next year when the team has to decide on Duran’s club option. It would be a no-brainer for Boston to keep him, but we’ve seen in the past that they’re not ambitious enough to keep everybody either.

Boston had a beleaguered 2024 season in which the team went 81-81. The Red Sox will pursue their first World Series championship since the 2018 season this Spring.

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