Red Sox's Alex Cora Provides Update Regarding Rising Star's New Injury

Boston will need the speedster back in action

Scott Neville | Mar 6, 2024

Red Sox's Alex Cora Provides Update Regarding Rising Star's New Injury /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have had some bad luck on the injury front as of late and it could have gotten a lot worse.

The big news out of Red Sox camp on Tuesday was the elbow injury to right-hander Lucas Giolito -- who appears to be done for the season. However, that was not the only injury news from a long day at Fort Myers.

Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran exited the game against the Tampa Bay Rays after three innings. The 27-year-old was seen favoring his foot during an at-bat that ended his evening.

Duran struck out, went into the dugout and never returned. It was the same foot the speedster underwent season-ending toe surgery on in August. Fortunately, the ailment was not related and appears to be short-term.

"He's Okay. His ankle is a little bit tight but that's it," manager Alex Cora told MLB.com's Ian Browne. "He'll play on Thursday."

Duran currently is battling for playing time alongside outfielders Tyler O'Neill, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela and Rob Refsynder while Masataka Yoshida is expected to primarily handle the designated hitter role.

Whether Rafaela makes the team out of spring training will have the biggest effect on Duran's ability to get on the field consistently this season.

Duran hit .295 with 44 extra-base hits including eight home runs, 40 RBIs and a .828 OPS (121 OPS+) in 102 games before suffering the aforementioned season-ending toe injury last season. He also stole 24 bases in 26 attempts and notably improved defensively from a year ago.

If healthy, Duran will have a chance to be a major contributor in what could be his first full season at the big-league level.

More MLB: Red Sox Star Hurler Reportedly Likely To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery

Published Mar 6, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu