Almost exactly seven years ago, the Red Sox summoned their top prospect -- a second baseman-turned-outfielder -- from their Triple A affiliate while the Red Sox were playing the Yankees in New York. Mookie Betts made his debut in Yankee Stadium.
Now, history is repeating itself.
The Red Sox will add Jarren Duran to their major league roster Thursday, as the team begins the second half of its season with a four-game set in New York, multiple major league sources confirmed. Duran's promotion was first reported by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
The timetable for Duran's promotion has been debated and anticipated for months. Like Betts, Duran was drafted by the Sox as a second baseman before shifting to the outfield two years ago. Duran, a seventh-round pick in 2018, was slashing ..270/.365/.561 with Triple-A Worcester in 46 games with 15 homers and 12 stolen bases.
Duran will take the roster spot that will be created when the Sox place Marwin Gonzalez (hamstring) on the IL Thursday.
BSJ ANALYSIS
While Duran is filling a spot created by a short-term injury, there's every reason to believe he's here to stay. If the Sox wanted someone only temporarily, they had other fill-in options at Triple-A.
It's unknown whether Duran will be in the starting lineup Thursday night, but it's obvious the Red Sox intend to give him significant playing time in center field. Calling Duran to the big leagues and then having him contribute irregularly would be counterproductive to his development.
The likelihood is that Duran will play center for much of the time, while Kike Hernandez, who has been a standout at the position in recent weeks, will play mostly second base, but also fill the role of a super-utility player, getting playing time at shortstop and other outfield spots -- including center, occasionally. Spotting Hernandez elsewhere in the lineup from time to time will allow Alex Cora to keep other everyday position players fresh over the second half.
The Sox had delayed promoting Duran until they were convinced he was ready to handle the big leagues. In spring training, Duran at times showed his inexperience in the outfield, too often taking imprecise routes to balls. Additionally, having re-made his swing last year at the organization's alternate site to enable him to drive the ball more, his swing-and-miss rate was alarming.
At Worcester this year, he's struck out 52 times in 189 at-bats, but he's made better contact as the season has progressed.
Just last week, Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told NBCSports Boston: "The one thing that's pretty clear is that (Duran) is a heck of a lot closer than he was when the season started. I think it's been a steady, upward trajectory for him in Worcester in terms of his comfort in the outfield, his jumps. his ability to read the ball off the bat and all that adds up to making plays.
"It's a high bar to be in our outfield now so we want to make sure that if he's ready to come, then he's ready to contribute there.''
Assuming Duran now will get the majority of playing time in center, he'll have big shoes to fill. Over the first half of the season, Hernandez was credited with 12 defensive runs saved in center field -- the most of any player in the game, regardless of position. On the team's recent West Coast trip, Hernandez made several stunning catches and also recorded two more outfield assists, including one which cut down the potential tying run at the plate in Oakland in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Meanwhile, after a slow start at the plate, Hernandez has come on strong in recent weeks and finally appeared comfortable in the leadoff spot. Over the last 20 games, he's compiled an on-base percentage of .389 with six homers and six doubles and 14 RBI with 10 runs scored.
It's likely that Hernandez will remain in the leadoff spot, while Duran is introduced into the lineup in the bottom third of the order to allow him time to get comfortable.
The timing of the promotion is also noteworthy.
In recent years, the Red Sox have chosen to have some of their top prospects when the team is on the road, perhaps believing that it's easy to initially assimilate when the team is away from Fenway.
Both Rafael Devers (2017) and Andrew Benintendi (2016) debuted while the Red Sox were on West Coast road trips in Seattle, Betts, meanwhile, joined the team for the first time in New York.
But if it was the Sox' intention to downplay Duran's arrival, they've chosen a curious setting. The Thursday game in New York is the lone game on the MLB schedule and will be nationally televised by ESPN. And, of course, the nature of the rivalry between the Red Sox and Yankees is such that it always brings added media attention.