As the 2025 Major League Baseball season continues its meandering into the approaching summer months, two things are certain: the days are getting longer and player trade rumors will persist until the July 31st trade deadline. The big question for Cleveland Guardians fans is whether or not the franchise will shake off its traditional, stodgy approach to trades with other MLB clubs, or will the club stay the course like a cargo ship navigating Lake Erie in the winter? Player trades are an integral part of the sport of baseball, as long as the trades make sense for both franchises. Sometimes, it’s just simple business sense to get rid of a heavy payroll burden and every once in a while, a Major League club can find a diamond in the rough out of a trade package. Of course, the loaded question for Guardians fans and pundits alike is whether or not there are any viable trade options out on the market or not at this point in the season.
Is OF Jarren Duran a viable trade candidate for the Guardians?
One of the good pieces of news for Guardians fans is the fact that this club is still very much in the playoff hunt and just a few games off the mark from the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers. As the summer approaches with longer and warmer nights, baseball truly starts warming up and it’s not too early to think about October and whether or not the Guardians have what it takes to make a legitimate playoff run. Based on the current standings, the answer to this question lies not in wins and losses but in overall team effectiveness at the plate. Currently, the Guardians have a .495 OPS from the center field position and a .513 OPS from right field, last and second to last in Major League Baseball, respectively.
The Boston Red Sox are languishing this season in the AL East and another postseason miss seems to be in the cards for the Fenway faithful. However, the trade bells and whistles are going off for OF Jarren Duran because in the last 20 games, he’s batting .318 with an eye-opening .881 OPS. Remember, Duran hit 21 homers with 75 RBI’s last season and had a league-leading 48 doubles and 14 triples along with 34 stolen bases. If those numbers don’t excite MLB front office executives on Duran, also remember that he also had 23 defensive runs saved with his throwing arm last season as well. Those numbers alone should make a number of MLB franchises to look at the 28-year-old Duran as a top-shelf trade candidate.
Who would the Guardians consider in a possible Duran trade?
It’s nice to talk about potential trade rumors and of course, Jarren Duran’s name is on probably a dozen teams’ trade radar at this point in the season. Duran’s offensive numbers are improving as the weather gets warmer and it may be time for the Red Sox to start unloading on some of their top players and work on improving their fortunes down the road. For the Guardians, the name that seems to come up in potential trades with the Red Sox is RHP Cade Smith. Smith is entering the prime of his pitching career and has just enough experience in the Show to be useful. While only closing out three saves so far this season, Smith does have a 2.73 ERA and a WHIP of 1.22.
Even more impressive is Smith’s 41 strikeouts to a ratio of only ten walks in 26 innings of work this season. In short, Smith can be useful to get a defense out of a jam in the later innings and a tool to preserve run leads. The question is now whether a Duran-Smith trade is equitable or even on the table for both organizations, as the Guardians could pick up some offensive firepower in the outfield and the Red Sox can pick up a needed middle reliever. Stay tuned, Guardians fans on this trade over the next few weeks.
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