The Boston Red Sox already have a left-handed-hitting dominant lineup and the potential addition of free agent Juan Soto could yet add another to manager Alex Cora’s lineup for the 2025 season.
Boston outfielder and left-handed hitter Jarren Duran, however, doesn’t see a problem with that. Being the lone Red Sox outfield representative at last season’s MLB All-Star Game — and MVP — Duran addressed the recent three-hour meeting Boston underwent with Soto, which could lead to a blockbuster addition for Boston.
“I think he’d hit pretty good,” Duran said on MLB Network. “I feel like he’d abuse that Monster in left field, like he has against a couple of times. So that’d be fun to see.”
Soto debuted as a member of the New York Yankees this season and belted a career-high 41 home runs. The 26-year-old also made the American League All-Star squad and left his options open before committing to an expected payday — Soto is projected to earn over $500 million. So far, the Red Sox are rumored to have left Soto “impressed” with their presentation on Thursday, but the slugger also met with the AL East rival Toronto Blue Jays as well.
Tyler O’Neill’s right-handed bat led the injury-hampered Red Sox in home runs last season with 31 while the team finished ninth with 194 — 43 shy of the Yankees (237). There’s no doubt adding Soto to the mix would provide a boost to manager Alex Cora’s lineup, but is having too many lefties a problem?
Duran has a clear stance on that possible concern.
“I don’t think so,” Duran said, per MLB Network. “It is baseball. But at the end of the day, we are athletes and we can adjust to the lefties if we need to. If you can hit, you can hit. But, you know, that’s not my territory, that’s the front office’s territory to deal with. I’m just here to hang out with the boys and have fun with whoever they put in that lineup.”
Aside from Duran, Boston’s leader in doubles (48), steals (34), hits (191) and runs (111), the Red Sox also have Rafael Devers, Wilyer Abreu, Masataka Yoshida and Triston Casas among the regularly played lefty hitters. That crew nearly made a convincing playoff push despite enduring a handful of critical injuries but sunk in the final two months to end the year at 81-81.
Soto’s upcoming meetings with the Yankees and Mets could also keep him in the Big Apple.
