Speculation has begun to swirl around Boston Red Sox outfielder Adam Duvall as a potential trade chip for the club this summer. Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe notes that rival executives think that Boston is playing Duvall virtually every day – despite the success of Jarren Duran in center field earlier this season – in hopes that the 34-year-old slugger will catch fire and become a tradable asset ahead of the deadline on August 1. MassLive’s Sean McAdam echoes the sentiment that Chaim Bloom’s front office could look to move Duvall, noting that starting pitching, left-handed relief and middle-infield help are among the weaknesses the Red Sox could look to patch up in return for Duvall’s services.
Duvall got off to one of the hottest starts in baseball to open the season across the league, slashing an incredible .455/.514/1.030 in eight games for the Red Sox prior to being sidelined with a fractured left wrist. While he returned to action earlier this month, Duvall has struggled in 13 games since returning from the IL, posting a slash line of just .146/.255/.268 in that space. Of course, Duvall’s performance both before and after the injury has come in an incredibly small sample sizes. The slugger has less than 100 plate appearances total on the season, meaning there’s still plenty of time for his numbers to stabilize one way or another as Boston weighs its options regarding their veteran outfielder.
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