Duran is under team control through 2028, but his name has surfaced frequently as a potential player to trade this winter. Winslow Townson / Getty Images

The Boston Red Sox and Jarren Duran agreed to a one-year, $7.7 million deal Tuesday, according to a league source, avoiding what could have been a messy arbitration process.

The contract includes $75,000 in performance bonuses, per the source, with $25,000 each for 450, 500 and 550 plate appearances.

The deal is noteworthy because of a decision looming on Thursday about Duran’s contract status. Last offseason, the Red Sox narrowly avoided arbitration with Duran by agreeing to a one-year, $3.85 million deal with a club option of $8 million for 2026.

The Red Sox needed to make a decision on the $8 million option by Thursday, and if they had declined, the club would have gone to arbitration with Duran and argued for a lesser salary based on his 2025 season, which was solid but less productive than his 2024 season.

That Duran and his agent agreed to a $7.7 million figure on Tuesday suggests they felt the Red Sox might win an eventual arbitration hearing.

Despite the deal, the Red Sox can still trade Duran this winter.

Duran, 29, is under team control through 2028, but his name has surfaced frequently as a potential player to trade this winter, given the team’s crowded outfield. After a breakout 2024, in which he posted a .285 average and .834 OPS in 160 games (735 PA), Duran hit .256 with a .774 OPS in 157 games (696 PA) in 2025.

Jen McCaffrey is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Boston Red Sox. Prior to joining The Athletic, the Syracuse graduate spent four years as a Red Sox reporter for MassLive.com and three years as a sports reporter for the Cape Cod Times. Follow Jen on Twitter @jcmccaffrey