Red Sox Face Crossroads with Jarren Duran

0:00It's April 22nd. MLB news today starts now. AI powered and always on. Jaren Durand, sitting against right-handed pitchers, used to be unthinkable for the Boston Red Sox, but now it's happening way too often. On Tuesday, they'll kick off 13 games against the hated New York Yankees with Louise Gill on the mound, and Durand hits the bench again. Last year, he almost hit five wins above replacement and grabbed most valuable player votes. Dude was a beast. He's already been parked against varieties, like Hunter Brown, of the Houston Astros and Brandon Woodruff, of the Milwaukee Brewers this season. They used to bench in mainly versus lefties, but that's flipped. In 17 of the team's 22 games so far, he's batting just 164 with a 497 on-base plus slugging and a 43. OPS plus way below league average. Red Sox fans have split down the middle on Durand. Some rye for him hard, others have wanted him out forever. Often over stuff off the field. But right now, it's all about his bat going cold and not sparking that speed chaos he brings.

1:06Without steady at bats, it's tough to blame it all on playing time, though he'd likely find his rhythm like in past seasons if he was every day. The bigger issue is Boston can't keep him sideline much longer without tanking his tray value, waiting for an injury to free up spots against. Masataka Yoshida is straight risky, so the Sox face are real crossroads. Let Durand heat up and claim those ad bats or pull the trigger on a tray they've dodged so far. Whatever move they make could shift their whole lineup vibe this year.