Boston Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran will undergo season-ending turf toe surgery on Wednesday, manager Alex Cora told reporters. Duran hasn't played since Aug. 20 and has been on the 10-day injured list. The club will presumably soon move him to the 60-day IL in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.
Duran, who turns 27 on Sept. 5, has been a key contributor for Boston this season. In 102 games, he's slashed .295/.346/.482 (120 OPS+) with 34 doubles and 24 stolen bases. Overall, Duran has an OPS+ of 96 across parts of three MLB seasons, all with the Red Sox. He's also spent the large majority of his defensive innings in center field. Adam Duvall is now the primary in center field. While Duvall is himself a top producer for Boston, the loss of Duran certainly hurts the outfield and lineup depth.
It's also a loss the Red Sox can ill afford, as they're trying to remain in the race for the final wild-card spot in the American League. They go into Tuesday's slate with a record of 69-63 and in fourth place in the tough AL East. On the wild-card front, they're 5 1/2 games out of the final spot. On Tuesday, they'll play the second game of a key three-game set against the Astros, one of the teams ahead them in the wild-card race.
