Jarren Duran really struggled to find his place on the Red Sox last season.
The speedy outfielder had arguably the low point of his young career last season in a record-setting Boston loss to Toronto. His misplay led to an inside-the-park grand slam in a 28-5 loss to the Blue Jays. He also had a run-in with fans in Kansas City all while struggling mightily at the plate.
Duran opened up about his struggles in Major League Baseball and how it was taking a toll on him, telling MassLive in August he was "kind of just tearing myself up internally and get pretty depressed and stuff like that. I find it hard to reach out to people because I don't want to bother other people with my problems. I kind of just build it up inside myself, which obviously makes everything a lot worse."
He faced a lot of criticism from all over, including himself, which clearly impacted his ability to perform at a high level. After Duran was optioned to Triple-A Worcester in August, manager Alex Cora gave him specific instructions on what to work on and went into this offseason with a lot to prove.
Cora in April noted the biggest difference between Duran in 2022 and Duran in 2023.
"He's in a good place offensively," Cora told reporters. "He's been working to be consistent. I think that's the most important thing. That's the difference between now and previous years."
Duran had a strong spring training but ended up beginning the 2023 season with the WooSox, but with the Red Sox facing injuries early on, he found himself back on the big league roster and began to immediately make an impact beyond his speed. He's gone 25-for-60 with 13 RBIs, 12 runs and as many extra-base hits with four stolen bases since being recalled by Boston, as noted by The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham.
Two of those four swiped bags came in the Red Sox's 11-5 win over the Blue Jays on Thursday night in a game when Durant went 3-for-5 with an RBI.
He's also slashing 417/.456/.683 with 10 doubles and two home runs over 68 plate appearances, so the work put into being consistent certainly has paid off.
Aside from the production at the plate, the 26-year-old just looks more comfortable and like he's having more fun. Sure, it helps when your team is winning and you're contributing, but to see this side of Duran should be encouraging to Red Sox fans.
There is no doubt Duran has had a positive transformation from last year to this year, and he'll look to carry that momentum into Friday's series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies. First pitch from Citizens Bank Park is set for 7:05 p.m. ET.
