Jarren Duran trade rumors are rapidly starting to percolate, and the Boston Red Sox have no one to blame but themselves.

Amid a gruesome 2-8 stretch, the Red Sox have fallen five games out of the playoff race for the first time all season. And all the while, baseball’s number-one prospect, outfielder Roman Anthony, is left to hit his clutch home runs in Triple-A.

The San Diego Padres, who have almost nobody to play left field, were known to have checked in on Duran recently, thanks to a report from Dennis Lin of The Athletic. That’s what set the hypothetical Duran trade machine in motion, but the Padres don’t seem to be the only caller.

On Tuesday, Sean McAdam of MassLive reported that the Red Sox have fielded multiple inquiries from teams interested in acquiring Duran. But even though moving the All-Star elsewhere would make room for Anthony, it doesn’t appear a deal is anything close to a guarantee.

“The Padres are not the only team to reach out and inquire about Duran, according to one MLB official. Sensing that the Red Sox are desperate to make room for the arrival of Anthony, those calls have intensified in recent weeks,” McAdam wrote.

“But the industry source got the sense that while the Red Sox were willing to discuss Duran, the team was by no means shopping the outfielder.”

It’s hard to figure out a Duran trade because the 28-year-old still has so much team control remaining. He won’t be a free agent until after the 2028 season, so the Red Sox would rightfully ask for a huge prospect package, and they’d only be interested in players who could help them win in 2026.

For that reason, McAdam also wrote that the Padres and Red Sox were “an unlikely match,” because San Diego has traded a lot of top prospects already in recent years, and their top remaining farmhands are still teenagers who won’t likely debut until 2027 or later.

What contender is giving up multiple prospects who are either big-league-ready or very close to it? That’s the multi-million-dollar question here.

To some degree, Duran has already proven he is what Anthony aspires to be: an All-Star, bordering on Most Valuable Player status. Anthony is close to eight years younger and might be a more impactful hitter, but getting rid of a proven star blocking his path is a slippery slope.

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