Tag: jarren duran

Jarren Duran hits first major-league homer, Kiké Hernández goes yard twice, and Hunter Renfroe mashes grand slam as Red Sox power their way to 13-4 win over Blue Jays

It turns out a lineup shakeup is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Red Sox on Monday night.

In the midst of a bit of an offensive malaise since coming out of the All-Star break, Sox manager Alex Cora changed things up with his lineup in dramatic fashion ahead of Monday’s series opener against the Blue Jays in Buffalo, and those changes proved to be quite beneficial right from the get-go.

That being the case since the Red Sox mashed six home runs in the process of cruising to a 13-4 victory over the Blue Jays at Sahlen Field.

Matched up against Toronto starter Ross Stripling, Kiké Hernández set the tone in the top of the first with a leadoff double.

Jarren Duran, inserted into the two-hole, followed by crushing his first career major-league home run — a two-run, 357-foot shot to left field that gave Boston an early 2-0 lead, but they were not done yet.

A Rafael Devers walk, J.D. Martinez double, and Alex Verdugo walk with one out brought Hunter Renfroe to the plate with the bases loaded, and the slugger obliged by unloading them on a 403-foot grand slam to left-center field. 6-0.

Stripling was given the hook after recording just one out, though Blue Jays reliever Anthony Kay did not fare much better, as he issued a two-out single to Kevin Plawecki before serving up a two-run blast to Hernández.

With Hernández, Duran, and Renfroe all going yard in the first, Monday marked the first time in franchise history that the Red Sox have ever hit three or more home runs in the first inning of a road game.

Hernández’s first of two big flies on the night put Boston up 8-0 before Toronto even had a chance to take their first at-bats, and they tacked on even more in their half of the second.

There, a solo home run off the bat of Devers — his 23rd — that was sent 392 feet to right-center field made it a 9-0 contest, while Martinez and Verdugo both reached to put runners on for Danny Santana, who laced a two-run double down the left field line to clear the bases and give his side an 11-0 advantage.

While the new-look Red Sox lineup was getting things done on their end, Nick Pivetta was making his 19th start of the season for Boston on the other side.

Despite receiving a healthy amount of run support, Pivetta certainly was not at his best in Buffalo on Monday.

After getting out of a first-inning jam thanks to a double play, the right-hander tossed two additional scoreless frames. Santana provided additional subsidence by clubbing his fourth homer of the year — a solo shot — in the top half of the fourth, giving the Red Sox a 12-0 lead, but Pivetta got knocked around somewhat in the bottom half.

A leadoff walk of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was the first harbinger of what was to come for Pivetta, while a base hit from George Springer put runners at second and third for Teoscar Hernandez, who broke up the shutout bid on an RBI groundout.

Randal Grichuk plated another on a sacrifice fly that brought in Springer, Cavan Biggio unloaded on a first-pitch fastball from Pivetta that he sent 390 feet into the right field seats, and Bo Bichette — with the bases full in front of him — tapped an RBI single a mere three feet down the third base line to make it a 12-4 contest.

Hernández got one of those runs back in Boston’s half of the sixth, as he took Toronto reliever Taylor Saucedo 382 feet deep to left field on a line-drive that left his bat at 108 mph.

With his his second big fly of the night, the 29-year-old reached the 500-hit mark for his big-league career.

Pivetta, after escaping a laborious fourth inning, came back out for the fifth and rebounded a bit by retiring six of the next nine Blue Jays he faced, but his evening did come to an end when he gave up a one-out single to Springer in the seventh to put runners at first and second.

Instead of having his starter attempt to finish the inning, Cora turned to Hirokazu Sawamura out of the bullpen, and the righty answered the call by getting Grichuk to fly out to Verdugo in left for the third and final out of the frame.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 108 (75 strikes), Pivetta wound up allowing four runs — all earned — on a season-high 11 hits, two walks, one hit batsman, and four strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings of work.

The 28-year-old hurler was able to improve to 8-4 on the year, though he did raise his ERA up to 4.37. His next start should come against the Yankees back at Fenway Park on Sunday.

From the middle of the seventh inning on, Darwinzon Hernandez took over for Sawamura, and the lefty rebounded from a tough weekend in the Bronx by punching out a pair in a perfect inning of relief.

Adam Ottavino, meanwhile, made his first relief appearance since July 11, and the veteran righty shut the door on the Jays with a scoreless ninth to preserve a 13-4 win for the Red Sox.

With the win, the Sox snap a two-game skid to improve to 57-38 on the season while also moving to 1 1/2 games ahead of the Rays for first place in the American League East.

Next up: Richards vs. TBD

The Red Sox will look to do something against the Blue Jays on Tuesday that they haven’t done in a while, and that’s win a series.

Right-hander Garrett Richards will get the start for Boston in the middle game of this three-game set, while Toronto has yet to name a starter.

First pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts and Jarren Duran: Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox shake up lineup ahead of series opener against Blue Jays in Buffalo

The Red Sox have scored a grand total of six runs over their last 24 innings since returning from the All-Star break, and those offensive struggles have prompted manager Alex Cora to shake up his lineup ahead of a three-game series against the Blue Jays in Buffalo that begins on Monday night.

While Kiké Hernández will remain in the leadoff spot for Monday’s series opener, Jarren Duran has been bumped up to the No. 2 spot, resulting in Alex Verdugo dropping down to sixth in the order.

Verdugo, who has hit second in all 82 of his previous starts this season, has cooled off at the plate as of late. The 25-year-old outfielder comes into play Monday sporting an unsightly .218/.315/.269 slash line to go along with just four extra-base hits (all doubles) over his last 20 games (89 plate appearances) dating back to June 22).

Duran, meanwhile, has batted sixth and seventh in his first two starts with the Red Sox after getting called up from Triple-A Worcester on Friday. The speedy outfield prospect hit leadoff 44 times and and third two times for the WooSox, but never hit out of the two-hole.

With the lineup maneuvering that essentially sees Duran and Verdugo switch places, the most dangerous part of Boston’s order has shifted as well, with Xander Bogaerts batting third, Rafael Devers batting cleanup, and J.D. Martinez batting fifth.

Bogaerts will hit out of the three-hole for just the eighth time this season, as he has primarily been used by Cora out of the cleanup spot. In his previous seven starts as the Sox’ No. 3 hitter, the 28-year-0ld went 7-for-25 (.280) at the plate with one double, three RBI, four runs scored, six walks, and six strikeouts.

Devers will bat cleanup for just the 12th time this season, as he has primarily been used as the Red Sox’ No. 5 hitter behind Martinez and Bogaerts. The 24-year-old has batted .286/.362/.452 as Boston’s cleanup hitter so far in 2021.

Martinez will bat fifth for the very first time this season after the vast majority of his plate appearances to this point in the season have come as the Sox’ cleanup hitter.

With Duran in center and Martinez serving as designated hitter, Verdugo — batting sixth — will get the start in left field, while Hunter Renfroe — batting seventh — will get the start in right field.

Danny Santana, who is expected to be activated from the 10-day injured list on Monday after missing nearly two weeks with a left quadriceps strain, is slated to hit seventh and start at first base.

Kevin Plawecki will round out the Red Sox lineup, as he gets the start behind the plate in place of a banged-up Christian Vazquez. He will be catching right-hander Nick Pivetta, who will be making his 19th start of the season for Boston.

The Blue Jays, in turn, will send fellow righty Ross Stripling to the mound for Monday’s series-opening contest at Sahlen Field.

Stripling, 31, has surrendered 10 earned runs on 13 hits (four home runs), two walks, and nine strikeouts in his previous two starts against the Red Sox this season, though this will be his first against them in Buffalo.

First pitch between the Red Sox (56-38) and Blue Jays (48-42) Monday is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. eastern time on NESN. Boston is looking to halt a two-game losing streak.

(Picture of Alex Cora: Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ rain-shortened 3-1 loss to Yankees overshadowed by fan throwing baseball at Alex Verdugo

Well, after two days of waiting, Jarren Duran’s highly-anticipated major-league debut was certainly an eventful one.

The Red Sox ultimately fell to the Yankees by a final score of 3-1 in a rain-shortened, six-inning contest at Yankee Stadium on Saturday night, but not before two rain delays, two ejections, one player getting hit in the back by a baseball thrown by a fan, and a period of time where baseball was being played in an absolute downpour.

Still, Boston saw their unbeaten run against their division rivals come to a close on Saturday, as they are now 7-1 this year when facing off against New York.

Nathan Eovaldi made his 19th start of the season for the Sox, and he was once again solid while going up against his former team.

Over five strong innings of work, the veteran right-hander yielded just one earned run on two hits, one walk, and one hit batsman to go along with seven strikeouts on the night.

While Eovaldi was rolling early on, the Red Sox lineup backed him up in their half of the second inning.

There, with one out and the bases empty, Duran stepped up to the plate for the very first time in his big-league career with Yankees ace Gerrit Cole on the mound waiting for him.

On the very first pitch he saw from Cole, a 95 mph fastball on the lower half of the plate, Duran ripped a line-drive single to center field for his first career hit.

The speedy outfield prospect would not be on first base for long though, as he advanced to second on a groundout before coming in to score on an RBI single off the bat of Christian Arroyo that gave the Red Sox their first lead of the night at 1-0.

From there, Eovaldi continued to sit down Yankees hitters left and right — and even took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before yielding a two-out double to Greg Allen to break up the no-hit bid.

Allen, known for his speed, was driven in on a game-tying RBI base knock from D.J. LeMahieu moments later, which resulted in Eovaldi’s outing coming to a close as soon as he recorded the final out of the fifth.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 94 (66 strikes), the 31-year-old hurler did not factor into Saturday’s decision, though he did lower his ERA on the season down to 3.57. His next start should come against this same Yankees team back at Fenway Park next Friday.

Venable, Plawecki ejected for arguing strikes

In the top half of the sixth, the Red Sox failed to score off Cole, though they certainly had a golden opportunity to do so.

A two-out walk drawn by Rafael Devers followed by a Hunter Renfroe single and Duran free pass filled the bases for Christian Vazquez, who fell behind in the count at 0-2 before offering a half-hearted swing on a slider that was well outside.

While the argument can be made that Vazquez did not break the plane in his swing attempt, the veteran backstop was called out on strikes anyway, prompting a bit of an eruption from the Red Sox dugout in protest of the call.

Because of said reaction, bench coach Will Venable and backup catcher Kevin Plawecki were ejected from the contest, which — in theory — left the Red Sox with only one catcher.

Chaos in the bottom of the sixth

As Hirokazu Sawamura prepared to take over Eovaldi out of the Red Sox bullpen, rain continued to pour in the Bronx-area.

Before a pitch could even be thrown in the sixth inning, pandemonium ensued when a Yankees fan in the left field bleachers threw a baseball at Alex Verdugo that struck the outfielder on the back.

That sequence, which came as a result of Verdugo attempting to throw the ball he was playing catch with to a Red Sox fan in the stands, led Verdugo to become visibly upset, as he began to charge towards the left field wall in search of the fan who hit him.

Duran and some Red Sox coaches were able to hold Verdugo back, but manager Alex Cora opted to pull his team off the field until things cooled down a bit.

By the time Boston had retaken the field and Sawamura was ready to go, Gary Sanchez greeted the right-handed reliever by crushing a solo home run that just snuck over the right field fence to give New York a 2-1 edge.

Gleyber Torres followed suit by clubbing another solo shot to right field, and the Yankees went up 3-1 over the Red Sox because of it.

Left-hander Josh Taylor was deployed after Sawamura gave up his second homer of the night, and he was able to escape the sixth without giving anything else up.

At that point, though, the volume at which the rain was falling from the sky truly began to pick up, and that led to the tarp coming on the field and another rain delay.

Approximately 52 minutes into said rain delay, the game was called, resulting in a 3-1 win for the Yankees in six innings.

With the loss, the Red Sox drop to 56-37 on the season, though they remain 1 1/2 games up on the Rays for first place in the American League East.

Duran’s debut

In his major-league debut, Duran — starting in center field and batting out of the six-hole — went 1-for-2 with a single, a walk, a strikeout, and one run scored.

Next up: Perez vs. Taillon

The Red Sox will go for the series win over the Yankees in the rubber match of this three-game set on Sunday night.

Left-hander Martin Perez will get the ball for Boston in the finale, while right-hander Jameson Taillon will do the same for New York.

First pitch Sunday is scheduled for 7:08 p.m. eastern time on ESPN.

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Adam Hunger/Getty Images)

Red Sox outright Austin Brice to Triple-A Worcester after reliever clears waivers, again

After being designated for assignment by the Red Sox on Friday, right-hander Austin Brice has cleared waivers and was subsequently outrighted to Triple-A Worcester, the team announced earlier Saturday afternoon.

Brice, who turned 29 last month, was designated for assignment for a second time this season so that the Sox could make room on both their 26-man and 40-man rosters for outfield prospect Jarren Duran.

The 6-foot-4, 238 pound righty opened the year in Boston’s bullpen for a second straight year, but got off to a rough start in which he posted a 6.94 ERA and .867 OPS over 12 appearances (11 2/3 innings pitched) before getting designated for a first time on May 21.

After clearing waivers, however, Brice was outrighted to Worcester on May 25, and he found success there by pitching to the tune of a 1.20 ERA and .140 batting average against in 12 games (one start) and 15 innings of work.

With that recent run of success in his back pocket, Brice earned a promotion back up to the Red Sox on July 10 and appeared in a game that same day, though he surrendered one run over two innings in an 11-2 loss to the Phillies at Fenway Park.

Coming out of the All-Star break, the Sox decided it was an appropriate time to call up Duran ahead of their series against the Yankees in the Bronx, and that decision ultimately led to Brice losing his spot on the 40-man.

Now that he is back in Worcester, Brice re-joins a WooSox bullpen that includes the likes of Brandon Brennan, Matt Hall, Kevin McCarthy, Phillips Valdez, and Marcus Walden, among others.

If the Red Sox were to call up Brice, who is out of minor-league options, again at some point later this season, they would need to open up a spot on their 40-man roster in order to accommodate him.

(Picture of Austin Brice: Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

Red Sox top prospect Jarren Duran set to make major-league debut against Gerrit Cole, Yankees on Saturday night

At long last, the day of Jarren Duran’s major-league debut has arrived.

After Thursday’s game was postponed due to COVID-19 issues and a left-handed starter kept him on the bench on Friday, Duran will be starting in center field and batting sixth for the Red Sox in their contest against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Saturday night.

Duran, 24, is regarded by Baseball America as the No. 5 prospect in Boston’s farm system, ranking tops among outfielders in the organization.

The California native joined the Sox in the Bronx ahead of what was then their-four-game series against the Yankees earlier this week and was slated to bat seventh in the opener on Thursday, but multiple positive COVID-19 tests from within New York’s clubhouse resulted in the game getting postponed.

That postponement led to Yankees manager Aaron Boone switching things up with his starting rotation, as left-hander Jordan Montgomery was named Friday’s starter as opposed to the right-handed Domingo German.

The move to swap German for Montgomery, which is something Red Sox manager Alex Cora saw coming, led to Duran being left out of Friday’s starting lineup as Boston went with a more right-handed heavy lineup.

With a right-hander slated to start for New York on Friday, though, Duran is finally set to make his highly anticipated big-league debut. The only problem — if you want to call it a problem — is that that right-hander is none other than bona fide ace Gerrit Cole.

Prior to officially getting called up on Friday, Duran appeared in a total of 46 games for Triple-A Worcester this season. In those 48 games, the 6-foot-2, 202 pound left-handed hitter slashed .248/.351/.564 with 12 home runs and 23 RBI in 154 total plate appearances against right-handed pitchers.

While Duran, who turns 25 in September, will be making his first career major-league start, Kiké Hernández will slide over to shortstop in place of Xander Bogaerts, who is out of Saturday’s lineup because he is “dealing with a little bit of wrist soreness.”

Christian Arroyo, meanwhile, gets the start at second base, leaving Bobby Dalbec to round things out at first base.

Nathan Eovaldi will be making his 19th start of the season as the Red Sox (56-36) go for their third straight series victory over the Yankees (46-44) to improve to 8-0 on the year against their division rivals.

First pitch Saturday night is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. eastern time on FOX.

(Picture of Jarren Duran: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Red Sox roster moves: Jarren Duran, Tanner Houck called up from Triple-A Worcester; Austin Brice designated for assignment; Marwin Gonzalez (hamstring strain) placed on injured list

Before opening up what is now a three-game series against the Yankees in the Bronx on Friday night, the Red Sox made a flurry of roster moves.

First off, outfield prospect Jarren Duran was selected to the major-league roster from Triple-A Worcester. In order to create room for Duran on both the 26-man and 40-man rosters, right-handed reliever Austin Brice was designated for assignment.

Secondly, utility man Marwin Gonzalez was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain. The beginning of his stint on the injured list was backdated to July 13. To fill Gonzalez’s spot on the major-league roster, right-hander Tanner Houck was recalled from Worcester

The Red Sox made all these transactions official earlier Friday evening. Their 40-man roster is now full.

Duran, 24, is regarded by Baseball America as the No. 5 prospect in Boston’s farm system, ranking tops among outfielders in the organization.

Selected by the Red Sox in the seventh round of the 2018 amateur draft out of Long Beach State (Calif)., the left-handed hitter opened the 2021 minor-league season with Triple-A Worcester, where he has slashed .270/.365/.561 with eight doubles, one triple, 15 home runs, 32 RBI, 37 runs scored, 12 stolen bases, 24 walks, and 52 strikeouts over 46 games spanning 219 trips to the plate.

While Duran, who turns 25 in September, is not in the Sox’ starting lineup for Friday’s contest, he will likely join the likes of Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts as top Red Sox outfield prospects to make their major-league debuts at Yankee Stadium.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 202 pounds, Duran will wear the No. 40, which was last worn by former infielder Marco Hernandez.

As for Brice, the right-hander wound up getting designated for assignment in order for the Red Sox to clear a spot on their 40-man — and subsequently their 26-man — roster for Duran.

Brice, 29, opened the 2021 campaign in Boston’s bullpen, but was designated on May 21 after getting off to a rough start in which he posted a 6.94 ERA and .867 OPS against over 12 appearances spanning 11 2/3 innings of work.

After clearing waivers and being outrighted to Worcester on May 25, Brice found success with the WooSox, as he put up a miniscule 1.20 ERA in 12 games (15 innings pitched).

That decent run resulted in the righty earning a promotion back to Boston on July 10, though he appeared in just one game for the big-league club this time around and allowed one run on two hits over two innings in an 11-2 loss at the hands of the Phillies on July 10.

In designating him for assignment once again, the Red Sox will have seven days to either trade, release, or outright Brice if he clears waivers.

—

Turning to the second installment of Friday’s roster moves, Marwin Gonzalez was placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to July 13) after re-aggravating and straining his right hamstring in Sunday’s loss to the Phillies.

The versatile 32-year-old sustained the injury while running out a groundball in the second inning of that contest, resulting in him being replaced by Bobby Dalbec at first base in the top half of the third.

Because his stint on the injured list was backdated to July 13, the soonest Gonzalez could be activated is next Friday, July 23, though it certainly seems as though the switch-hitter could very well miss more than the minimum 10 days.

While Jarren Duran essentially takes Gonzalez’s place on the roster in terms of position player-to-pitcher composition, it’s right-hander Tanner Houck who literally takes Gonzalez’s spot on the major-league squad.

Houck, 25, last pitched for the Red Sox on April 18 after beginning the year in the club’s starting rotation and later making a spot start during a doubleheader against the White Sox.

In his three outings (two starts) with Boston this season, Houck — who made his big-league debut last September — posted a 4.35 ERA, a 2.39 FIP, and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 12:1 over 10 1/3 total innings of work.

Upon being optioned to Triple-A Worcester in late April, however, the right-hander was forced to miss approximately six weeks of action after experiencing flexor muscle soreness in his throwing arm during his first start of the year for the WooSox on May 4.

Following a lengthy shutdown period, Houck was able to return to the mound for Worcester on June 17 and pitched to the tune of a 4.50 ERA and 3.28 FIP while striking out 22 and walking 18 in five starts (18 innings pitched) between then and the time he was called up on Friday.

The Red Sox plan on using Houck in a hybrid role in which the lanky righty will both start and pitch out of the bullpen when needed. The former first-round pick’s first start of the second half will come against the Blue Jays in Buffalo next Wednesday.

(Picture of Jarren Duran: Boston Red Sox)

Jarren Duran not in Red Sox’ lineup for series opener against Yankees with left-hander Jordan Montgomery starting for New York

Jarren Duran’s first career major-league start will have to wait another day, as the outfielder has been left out of the Red Sox’ lineup for their series-opening contest against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Friday night.

Duran, a left-handed hitter, will start out on the bench Friday with left-hander Jordan Montgomery getting the start for New York.

The 24-year-old top prospect was originally slated to bat seventh on Thursday night against Yankees right-hander Domingo German, but that game wound up getting postponed on account of COVID-19 issues from within New York’s clubhouse.

For whatever reason, the Yankees opted to swap out German in favor of Montgomery, leading Red Sox manager Alex Cora to go with a more right-handed heavy lineup to kick off what is now a three-game weekend series.

Prior to getting called up from Triple-A Worcester this week, Duran had appeared in 46 games for the WooSox.

Over the course of those 46 games, the former seventh-round draft pick actually hit better against lefties (.321/.400/.554 in 65 plate appearances) than he did against righties (.248/.351/.564 in 154 plate appearances).

Even with those splits in mind, Cora did say on Thursday that the Red Sox would try to get Duran more playing time against righties and only against a select number of southpaws.

“He’s very dynamic, a left-handed hitter. We’ll protect him, although his numbers in the minor leagues this year have been great against lefties,” Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) prior to Thursday’s postponement. “At the same time, there’s lefties and then there’s tough lefties. We’ll check the matchups and make sure we take care of him and protect him. Against righties, he’s a full-go.”

Montgomery, who will be making his 18th start of the year for the Yankees on Friday night, has held opposing left-handed hitters to a .175/.233/.350 line this year, so it would appear that he qualifies as one of those “tough lefties” Cora described.

While Duran will begin things on the bench on Friday, the dynamic outfielder could still make his major-league debut in this series opener.

As noted by The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, though, the same thing happened with Andrew Benintendi when the former Red Sox outfielder made his big-league debut as a pinch-hitter against the Seattle Mariners back on August 2, 2016.

Here is how the rest of the Red Sox will line up behind left-handed starter Eduardo Rodriguez Friday night.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Jarren Duran: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox to call up Tanner Houck for upcoming series against Yankees, joining Jarren Duran on major-league roster

Jarren Duran will not be the only fresh face joining the Red Sox in New York, as the club is also planning on calling up right-hander Tanner Houck ahead of Thursday’s series opener against the Yankees in the Bronx, according to WBZ-TV’s Dan Roche.

Houck, 25, opened the 2021 season in Boston’s starting rotation and posted a 4.35 ERA and .806 OPS against over three outings (two starts) and 10 1/3 innings pitched across two separate stints with the team, the second of which concluded after he yielded three runs over 4 1/3 frames as the 27th man in the first game of a doubleheader against the White Sox on April 18.

Since then, the lanky righty had to be shut down for approximately six weeks beginning in early May after experiencing flexor muscle soreness in his throwing arm, but was able to return to the mound for Triple-A Worcester on June 17.

In the five starts he has made with the WooSox since returning to action last month, Houck has put up a 4.50 ERA and 3.28 FIP to go along with 22 strikeouts to seven walks over 18 total innings of work.

At the moment, how the Red Sox plan on using Houck is unclear. As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, the former first-round pick could be used as a starter, a multi-inning reliever out of the bullpen, or a hybrid-type who is capable of doing both when needed.

That being said, Sox manager Alex Cora did hint earlier this month that Houck’s role with the club during the second half of the season was going to be a multifaceted one.

“He’ll be versatile,” Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) back on July 1. “We’ve been talking about a few things. After the All-Star break, how are we going to do this? And where or how are we going to use him? Where and how are we going to use everybody else understanding that we’re going to play all those games in a row against division rivals. And we don’t have an off day until August 2.

“So we’ll stretch him out,” added Cora. “That’s the most important thing. And then we’ll decide how we’re going to use him. But versatility is something that might come into the equation and he might fit that bill.”

For the Red Sox to add both Duran and Houck to the major-league roster, a series of roster moves will need to be made.

While Houck is already on Boston’s 40-man roster, the same cannot be said for Duran, so a spot will need to be created there for the speedy outfield prospect.

Additionally, Cotillo notes that Marwin Gonzalez is likely headed to the injured list after the veteran utility man re-aggravated his right hamstring on Sunday.

Reliever Austin Brice, who was added back to the 40-man roster on Saturday, meanwhile, is a candidate to be designated for assignment in order to open up a spot on the 40-man for Duran, though that is just pure speculation at this point.

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox to call up top outfield prospect Jarren Duran for upcoming series against Yankees, per report

The Red Sox are planning on calling up top outfield prospect Jarren Duran for their upcoming series against the Yankees in the Bronx, according to the Worcester Telegram’s Joe McDonald.

Duran, who has been playing with Triple-A Worcester this season, was not in the WooSox’ lineup for the first game of their doubleheader against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at Polar Park on Wednesday, nor will he be in their lineup for the nightcap.

Instead, as noted by McDonald, Duran is on his way to New York to join the Red Sox as they prepare to kick off the second half of their season with a four-game series against the Yankees that begins on Thursday night.

Duran, 24, is regarded by Baseball America as the No. 5 prospect in Boston’s farm system, ranking tops among outfielders in the organization. The Red Sox selected the California native out of Long Beach State in the seventh round of the 2018 amateur draft.

Coming into play Wednesday, the 6-foot-2, 202 pound left-handed hitter was hitting .270/.365/.561 to go along with eight doubles, one triple, 15 home runs, 32 RBI, 37 runs scored, 12 stolen bases, 24 walks, and 52 strikeouts over 46 games (219 plate appearances) for the WooSox.

Earlier in the spring, the speedy Duran helped United States baseball qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, but he was left off of Team USA’s Olympic roster due to the USOC being wary of the fact that the Red Sox would want to call him up at some point over the summer.

Because Duran — who turns 25 in September — is not currently on the Red Sox’ 40-man roster, the club will need to make a corresponding roster move on Thursday in order to add him to the major-league squad.

While it is unclear at the moment what that move will look like, one thing is for certain: Duran will be making his big-league debut under the bright lights of Yankee Stadium.

As noted by The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, who confirmed McDonald’s report, Duran joins Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts as prior top Red Sox outfield prospects to make their major-league debut in the Bronx.

(Picture of Jarren Duran: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox prospect Jarren Duran scratched from Triple-A Worcester’s lineup due to lower-back tightness

Top Red Sox outfield prospect Jarren Duran was scratched from Triple-A Worcester’s starting lineup on Friday night, but not for the reason you might expect.

Duran was originally leading off and starting in center field for the WooSox in their game against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies affiliate) in Allentown, Pa., which was slated to begin at 7:05 p.m. eastern time, but has since been delayed.

At approximately 6:30 p.m., however, the WooSox announced a lineup change, as left fielder Marcus Wilson moved into the leadoff spot and Tate Matheny took over for Duran in center field.

That change led many to speculate if the Red Sox were making preparations to call up one of their most exciting prospects for his highly-anticipated major-league debut, but it turns out that he was removed from Worcester’s lineup for injury-related reasons.

According to the Worcester Telegram’s Joe McDonald, Duran was scratched with lower-back tightness, though the move is more precautionary than anything on account of the rainy conditions in eastern Pennsylvania.

Duran, who turns 25 in September, is regarded by Baseball America as the No. 5 prospect in Boston’s farm system, ranking first among outfielders in the organization.

With the WooSox this season, the speedy left-handed hitting outfielder has posted an impressive .279/.369/.581 slash line (148 wRC+) to go along with 15 home runs, 32 RBI, 36 runs scored, 22 walks, 47 strikeouts, and 10 stolen bases over 43 games (179 plate appearances) thus far.

While he has continued to turn heads in Worcester — as well as with Team USA — this year, Duran is still waiting for that first call up to the big-leagues.

Despite helping Team USA qualify for the Summer Games earlier this spring, Duran was not named to their final Olympic roster last week.

The reasoning behind that, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, had to do with the United States Olympic Committee being concerned that the Red Sox would want to call him up while he was playing in Tokyo, which in turn would lead to logistical challenges.

With that being said, Speier added that “Duran is de facto big league depth at this point [and is] very likely to reach the big-leagues at some point this year.”

(Picture of Jarren Duran: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)