Alex Cora was right. The Red Sox should win some sort of award for getting their guys ready to play entering the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Boston’s bats hit .310 during pool play and contributed to some of the tournament’s best performances thus far. The most impactful of all entering 2026? Jarren Duran balling out for Team Mexico.
Watching Roman Anthony start every game and contribute at a high level for Team USA is super encouraging. But if the Red Sox are going to be a playoff team in 2026, Duran has to perform like an All-Star caliber offensive weapon. He’s done that so far this spring.
Here are three reasons the Red Sox should feel great about Duran with two weeks to go before Opening Day.
The Power Surge
Duran has left the yard six times so far this spring. His two most recent homers came against Matthew Boyd in Team Mexico’s pool play battle with Team USA, emphasizing the 29-year-old’s sizzling start to competitive action this season.
Duran hit 21 homers in his All-Star 2024 season, but dropped back down to 16 home runs in 2025. The left-handed bat flashed raw power as a prospect, though the ability to bring that thump consistently in the big leagues hasn’t always been there. Swing changes and approach tweaks have reshaped Duran’s offensive identity, but he can contribute to the 20+ home run club that’s become a major talking point around the Red Sox lineup.
Put it this way: the math looks great. Across 27 total spring training and WBC at-bats, Duran homered in nearly a quarter of them. Only Vinny Pasquantino joins the Red Sox outfielder with a trio of WBC long balls.
Lefties? No problem.
For the Red Sox to produce at an efficient level in 2026, their young left-handed bats have to meet the matchups against southpaws. That especially goes for Duran, Roman Anthony and Wilyer Abreu.
Duran felt the dropoff against lefties in 2025 with just a .211 batting average and .600 OPS. He has to be better and voiced his intention to make the right adjustments in 2026:
Well, he’s mashing lefties this spring. THAT is the storyline of his strong start. If Duran holds his own left-on-left, Boston’s offense could reach a completely different level.
Oh, and about that power surge we talked about above: of those six homers, four came against left-handed pitching.
Leaning into athleticism
Duran’s defense was concerning at times in 2025 (-4 OAA, 18th percentile), headlined by his inability to secure an Aaron Judge line drive that led to the Yankees taking the lead in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card series.
The Red Sox outfielder already turned in a quality defensive moment for Mexico when he started a timely relay to cut down USA’s Anthony at the plate early in the pool play matchup.
The speedster nabbed a pair of stolen bases as well in WBC action.
All of these trends point to the way Duran has to attack with his playing style in 2026: Play loose. Dominate with athleticism. Make the adjustments.
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