Dodgers may be the only ones who can meet Red Sox's absurd price for Jarren Duran

Even though the consensus top three free agents are still floating around out there (Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette, Alex Bregman), a number of the bigger names on the market have slowly come off of the board. Kyle Schwarber went back to the Phillies, Pete Alonso went to the Orioles, Edwin Díaz came to the Dodgers.

The trade market has been far more underwhelming. Insiders were convinced that a Ketel Marte trade was imminent a few weeks ago, and he's stayed put. Tarik Skubal is still a Tiger, Brendan Donovan is still a Cardinal, Jarren Duran is still a Red Sox.

And the latest reports on Boston's asking price for Duran explain why. Per Jeff Passan (who posted this tidbit exclusively on Threads, of all places), the Red Sox "believe Duran is worth a front-of-the-rotation starter. At this point, no one has been willing to pay that."

The Dodgers, however, have yet to make a much-expected trade for an outfielder to replace Michael Conforto, and they have a surplus of starting pitching. They haven't been connected to Duran nearly as much as Donovan, Steven Kwan, or Lars Nootbaar, but if they're willing to meet Boston's price, any one of Emmet Sheehan, Gavin Stone, or River Ryan could potentially get the job done.

Dodgers could use their surplus pitching talent to make a trade with Red Sox for Jarren Duran

Would the Dodgers even buy into the Red Sox's belief that Duran is worth that much? Maybe not. He's turned in three solid seasons, was an All-Star and MVP candidate in 2024, and he still has three years of team control left, but he may be an iffy clubhouse presence and his power took a worryingly steep drop in 2025.

But the Dodgers do need to do something with their excess starters, even if they go to a six-man rotation next year. Stone and Ryan are both coming off of major surgeries, but Stone was incredibly solid before he got hurt, and Ryan was a sensation for the three major league starts he managed to pitch before he went down.

If the Red Sox are looking for a bonafide No. 1, then they'll almost certainly be out of luck, but Stone or Ryan could plausibly work out as a No. 2 (even if that might take some convincing for the Red Sox's front office).

The Dodgers and Red Sox are frequent trade partners, and LA sent a starter to Boston as recently as the 2025 deadline. If the Guardians are asking too much for Kwan, or the Cardinals for Nootbaar, they could pivot to Duran and make it work on both ends.