Duran's 2024 could be a road map for '25 success

This story was excerpted from Ian Browne's Red Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

BOSTON -- It is perhaps too easy to fall into the trap of thinking Jarren Duran’s magnificent 2024 season was an outlier and that he won’t approach those numbers this season, given his modest start.

Upon further review, Duran’s start to the 2024 season was eerily similar.

Here are the numbers for his first 46 games of 2024 and his first 46 games of ’25:

2024: 187 AB, 23 runs, 51 hits, 13 doubles, six triples, two homers, 18 RBIs, 18 walks, 45 strikeouts, slash line of .273/.344/.439
2025: 202 AB, 24 runs, 53 hits, 10 doubles, five triples, three homers, 27 RBIs, 11 walks, 48 strikeouts, slash line of .262/.309/.406

The most noticeable difference is the on-base percentage. Duran hasn’t been as selective this season. Other than that, things are pretty much as they were at this time last year.

Of course, Duran finished 2024 slashing .285/.342/.492 with 111 runs, 191 hits, 48 doubles, 14 triples, 21 homers and 75 RBIs.

This week, Duran has started to resemble the player he turned into during an All-Star 2024 season. He was in the middle of everything as the Red Sox engineered their best comeback victory of the season on Saturday against the Braves, rallying from deficits of 5-0 and 6-2.

There was Duran with a two-run shot to straightaway center to give Boston its first shot of life in that game.

And there was Duran with a two-out, two-run single to right in the eighth that tied the game and set up Rafael Devers for the first walk-off homer of his career in the bottom of the ninth.

When the Red Sox were preparing for their matchup against Chris Sale on Friday night, manager Alex Cora was watching his team’s matchup against the lefty ace from May 2024, and that was when he noticed Duran’s unimpressive stat line to that point of that summer.

He brought it to Duran’s attention.

“It's a long season,” Duran said, “and I'm terrible at realizing that. I'm always thinking like, ‘Oh, I was good last year, and right now, I'm terrible.’ And when you really break it down, it's about the same. My numbers are scary similar. And it's kind of weird.”

Though Duran has made strides in not being so tough on himself when he isn’t performing up to expectations, he admits falling into that trap until recently.

“I'm just trying to keep it simple and just have some fun,” Duran said. “I mean, I wasn't having fun [earlier]. I was putting too much pressure on myself. But I’ve got to focus on the boys. That's the most important thing. Focus on my teammates. And it shows. I mean we have good results when you focus on the team. And that’s what I'm just trying to focus on right now.”

There has also been a mechanical adjustment. Duran has returned to incorporating the leg kick that helped raise his level of play last season.

“We all know about the leg kick,” Cora said. “It’s back. It just gives him the freedom to be an athlete. Sometimes it feels like he's rigid -- you know, a little bit tight -- and he cannot get his swing off. Now, he's been able to do that. So little by little, he's getting there. Like I said, if you start comparing seasons -- and we're in that business, right? -- we thought he was actually struggling. And, you know, if we're going to compare, he was struggling last year.”

For most of the season, the Red Sox have hovered right around the .500 mark.

If Duran can get hot and stay hot, the entire lineup becomes more dangerous.