Jarren Duran should have been a shoo-in for Team USA.
Perhaps the most exciting Boston Red Sox position player prospect, Duran is knocking on the door to the big leagues. He's shown light tower power in Triple-A Worcester, which compliments his blistering speed and impressive defensive ability.
So, why was he omitted? It's really not that deep.
The Red Sox were more than happy to let Duran go to the Olympics, according to The Boston Globe's Alex Speier. However, there was a condition: the Red Sox wanted to be able to bring him back if needed. You can imagine the logistical nightmare it would be for Team USA to replace a vacant roster spot in the middle of the Games, so they elected to just leave him off the roster.
Now, that understandably has even furthered the buzz that perhaps the Red Sox could call Duran up in the not-too-distant future. After all, they're just beginning their West Coast road trip, and their last two big position player prospects, Rafael Devers and Andrew Benintendi, made their debuts while the team was out West.
But Chaim Bloom and Alex Cora have preached patience with Duran, and it doesn't appear that's changing anytime soon. Maybe he will be with the big club soon. But Team USA needed to know now if Duran was going to be available, and if he wasn't able to be recalled back to Boston, then that basically blocked out a month that the Red Sox wouldn't have Duran at their disposal.
With that in mind, if there's anything you can take away from this, it's that Duran is close. A call-up might not be coming in the next few days, but it very clearly is not that far off in the distance. There's no need to worry that his omission is performance-based -- if anything, it's the exact opposite.
And while Duran won't be going, the Red Sox will be well-represented in Tokyo. Power-hitting corner infielder Triston Casas will be going, as will Jack Lopez, a 28-year-old who is in his first year in Boston's system.
