Salary Proposals Revealed After Boston Red Sox, Jarren Duran Fail to Avoid Arbitration

Boston Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran (16) catches a line drive hit by New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres (not pictured) during the fifth inning at Yankee Stadium. / Gregory

The Boston Red Sox locked down salaries for three of their four arbitration-eligible players on Thursday, but failed to come to terms on a deal with Jarren Duran.

And it all came down to a $500,000 difference.

The deadline for teams and players to agree on salaries for the 2025 season was Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. Negotiations are technically allowed to continue until arbitration hearings get underway, but it does not appear Duran and the Red Sox will be settling before then.

According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, Duran filed for a $4 million salary. The Red Sox, meanwhile, offered him $3.5 million.

 projected Duran to make $4.9 million in 2025 at the start of the offseason, meaning he and his representatives weren’t even shooting as high as they could have.

Duran, 28, was arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter. He made just $760K in 2024, despite making an All-Star appearance, finishing eighth in AL MVP voting and earning a spot on the All-MLB Second Team.

In 160 games, Duran hit .285 with 21 home runs, 75 RBI, 34 stolen bases, an .834 OPS, 23 defensive runs saved and a 8.7 WAR. He led all of MLB with 48 doubles, 14 triples, 671 at-bats and 735 plate appearances.

Duran had found some success in the big leagues before – batting .295 with an .828 OPS in 2023 – but he was limited to just 102 games last season due to turf toe. Over the prior two years, Duran hit just .219 with a .622 OPS and -0.8 WAR.

Perhaps that has the Red Sox concerned that Duran’s 2024 campaign was a flash in the pan. After all, FanGraphs’ Steamer projections have him batting .263 with 19 home runs, 71 RBI, 31 stolen bases, a .769 OPS and a 3.2 WAR in 2025.

However, Boston supposedly offered Juan Soto a $700 million contract earlier this offseason, and they haven’t spent big on a free agent since that deal failed to materialize. The Red Sox’s 2025 payroll is only projected to come in around $168 million, giving them plenty of breathing room when it comes to the luxury tax.

Budging on a $500K gap with one of their rising young stars wouldn’t have broken Boston’s back financially. It also would have helped dispel the narrative that ownership was becoming cheap.

Instead, Duran and the Red Sox are set to go head-to-head in an arbitration hearing at some point in the next few weeks.