FORT MYERS, Fla. -- When Jarren Duran led off Sunday’s game with a line-drive single to right for his first hit of the spring, Boston’s center fielder was just getting started. He had some things to test out and a nagging subconscious to silence.
And let’s be honest: He just really likes to run.
So after Duran collected his first single of the spring during Boston’s 3-1 win over Toronto, he took a short lead off first. Blue Jays starter Paolo Espino paid him little mind, so Duran pushed his luck a bit on the next pitch.
No acknowledgement from the mound.
By the time Espino realized his error, it was too late. He had just moved forward in his delivery to release the fourth pitch of the at-bat when Duran hit the gas, tore up the right side of the field and slid under catcher Alejandro Kirk’s futile throw up the middle a moment later.
Duran’s first stolen base of the spring represented another test passed.
The weekend marked his first two games back since Aug. 20, when his season ended abruptly with a left big toe injury after he climbed the wall in unsuccessful pursuit of a home run at Yankee Stadium. While Friday’s Grapefruit League debut was more about getting reacclimated to the game environment and working out the jitters of testing his toe for the first time post-surgery, Duran said he felt much more comfortable during the second run-through.
“I was nervous to be back, playing again in front of home fans here, and then [thinking about] what I was able to do last year,” he admitted. “I'm just trying to tell myself, 'Hey, you're the same player. You're perfectly fine. You're healed. You're recovered.’”
Duran finished 1-for-2 and played center field for four innings on Sunday. The outfield makeup against the Blue Jays -- with Tyler O’Neill in left, and Wilyer Abreu in right -- allowed Boston to give Duran some reps at what will likely be his spot to start the season should Ceddanne Rafaela, Boston’s No. 3 prospect and No. 76 in baseball per MLB Pipeline, not break camp with the team.
Regardless of where he plays defensively, Duran is the Red Sox’s leadoff man, something manager Alex Cora made clear early in camp. Duran reminded Toronto why he’s great from the top spot, using his speed to swipe a bag and then taunting Espinal with feints and daring secondary leads before he was stranded at second to end the inning.
Most importantly, his surgically repaired big toe came through with flying colors. Duran knew it would, but every game brings a bit more comfort.
“I think lately, my biggest battle is knowing [my toe] is going to be sore, and that that’s normal,” said Duran, who’d completed endless drills on the back fields in the past weeks but admitted there’s no perfect simulation for real game action. “Some days are going to be better than the others, but it's perfectly healed, and I should be able to do everything perfectly fine.”
This weekend was a good step in the right direction.
Rotation, rotation
Kutter Crawford entered the offseason with a mission to strengthen his lower half and hopefully avoid late-outing fatigue that caught up with him at times last season. He entered camp 10 pounds heavier -- the result of learning to push his body “past a certain threshold” in the weight room -- and a solid plan of attack for 2024.
“When I know I'm getting toward the end of my line, or when I'm starting to get to that threshold, I think I’ve just got to kind of empty the tank,” he said. “I can't try to save some juice for the next day. … So I think once I get to that fifth-inning, six-inning mark, I’ve got to just kind of mentally crank it up a notch and go full throttle.”
Crawford fanned four across three scoreless innings Sunday and allowed just a pair of singles in his second spring start as he continues to ramp up for the No. 4 spot in the rotation this season.
Welcome to the party
Sunday marked the first day newcomer C.J. Cron participated in baseball activity with the Red Sox after he agreed to terms on a Minor League deal on Monday, but Cora said despite the late start, Cron is still in the mix to break camp with the big club.
“That’s why he’s here,” Cora said.
Cron is set to debut March 11 at home against the Pirates.