Red Sox will play outfielder at new position before World Baseball Classic

Over the next week or so Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran will spend a lot of time at a different spot than normal.

But before fans start jumping to any conclusions, Duran isn’t changing positions permanently.

Speaking to reporters in Fort Myers, Duran said manager Alex Cora informed him on Monday that since he will be playing right field for Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic, he’ll get more time than usual in right to make sure he’s prepared for the tournament.

“(Cora) came up to me today and said you’re going to play right field in the WBC so let’s get you ready for that,” Duran said.

“Hopefully we can get him in games playing that position. Get him ready because it’s fair for the player, fair for the federation and fair for us,” Cora said later. “Because if he’s going to play right field he better be ready because it will be hard for me to be watching a game and then all of a sudden he gets hurt because he wasn’t prepared for that.”

Throughout his big league career Duran has primarily played in left and center field for the Red Sox. Last season he played 139 games in left, 28 in center and only two in right. The year prior it was 105 in center, 83 in left and none in right.

Overall Duran has only appeared in 10 games at right field since debuting in 2021, and since the Red Sox have two-time Gold Glove winner Wilyer Abreu once again slated to start in right this year, Cora indicated Duran won’t play the position again much after the WBC is over.

“We’ve got the best defender in the big leagues,” Cora said. “Of course we will need somebody else because we’ll need to give him some days, but we’ll see where we’re at. Roman (Anthony) played great in right field last year too.”

This spring will mark Duran’s second time playing for Mexico in the WBC. The last time around in 2023 he was a seldom used bench player who only got five at bats in six games, but this time he is projected to play a much larger role.

Despite that, Duran said the WBC is some of the most electric baseball he’s ever been a part of, and he’s grateful for the opportunity to represent Mexico, the country where his father was born.

“It means a lot, I know we live in the states and it’s USA but for me and my dad it feels like I’m representing him,” Duran said. “That means a lot to me because I feel like he always takes a step behind me and this kind of helps me represent him in a way, and I don’t get to do that a lot. It’s a huge honor for me.”

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