As Story Returns from IL, Red Sox Demote Struggling Prospect

Making room for their big offseason signing, the Red Sox have sent down one of their top prospects, who has underperformed in parts of two seasons with the team.

The #RedSox today reinstated 2B Trevor Story from the 10-Day Injured List.

To make room for Story on the active roster, the club optioned OF Jarren Duran to Triple-A Worcester following last night’s game.
— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 27, 2022

It’s been a tough year for Jarren Duran, who has struggled to take advantage of the Red Sox weak outfield depth despite multiple chances. Duran is a converted infielder, and it shows in his defense. Despite his blazing speed, he has produced some viral lowlights with flyball tracking skills that are, to put it lightly, unrefined.

Inside-the-park grand slam for Raimel Tapia as Jarren Duran has no idea where the baseball is pic.twitter.com/9WUJ0Amw4S
— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) July 23, 2022

His performance at the plate hasn’t been any prettier. First billed as a contact-speed type player, Durran bulked up and delivered some big-time power numbers in Triple-A over the past few seasons, adding a ton of helium to his prospect stock. But he’s lost both his contact and power skills in the majors so far, as he’s struggled just to put the bat on the ball.

Jarren Duran

Since the start of July

.182 average - 155th of 159 qualifiers

32.1% strikeout rate - 153rd

-0.7 f(WAR) - 156th
— Brian Barrett (@itsbrianbarrett) August 27, 2022

On the other hand, Trevor Story hasn’t performed how Sox fans hoped for either. After a dreadful start to the season that forced manager Alex Cora to push him to the bottom of the lineup, the former Rockies’ shortstop finally began to heat up before missing time with a hand contusion that turned out to be a hairline fracture, costing him the second half of July and almost all of August.

Coming off of an unexpected deep playoff run last season, the Red Sox were hoping Story would improve them enough to become real contenders. Instead, they have effectively fallen out of the playoff race entirely, with the Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays, and even the Orioles outplaying them. With Story on the wrong side of 30, and their Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts still not signed to contract extensions, this might have been the Red Sox last dance with their current core.