Duran's Slump: Red Sox Trade Talks Heat Up

0:00It's April 22nd. Welcome in. This is Boston Red Sox News today, where your team meets AI. I'm Cory with the story. Jaren Duran, the Boston Red Sox star outfielder, is sitting out more games than fans expected, especially against right-handed pitchers. Last year, Benching him like that was unthinkable, but now it's happening again. Tonight as the socks face the New York Yankees and their righty Louise Gill in the first of 13 rivalry games this season, Duran stays on the bench. Earlier this year, he missed starts against righties like Houston's Hunter Brown and Milwaukee's Brandon Woodruff, too. Duran crushed a last season with almost five wins above replacement and MVP votes, but he's only played 17 of the team's 22 games, so far. Fans are split on Duran, some love his energy, others have soured on him for off-field stuff, but right now it's all about his bat. He's hitting just 164, with a 497 on-base plus lugging, and a 43 OPS plus plus only

1:00four extra base hits, and a two. 53 on-base mark that kills his speed game. The socks can't keep him parked forever without tanking his trade value. Giving at bats to Masataka Yoshida instead is risky, especially waiting for an injury to shake things up. Duran's got a heat up soon and claim his spot, or Boston might finally pull the trigger on a trade they've been avoiding.