Red Sox's Jarren Duran opens up about mental health, attempted suicide in Netflix documentary

BOSTON — EDITOR'S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.
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Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran said in an upcoming documentary series that two years before his 2024 All-Star season, the pressures of the sport led him to intense bouts of depression and an attempted suicide.

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New York Times

an hour ago

• New York Times

Red Sox takeaways: Sloppy defense returns in wasted opportunity; Hunter Dobbins to IL

SAN FRANCISCO – A quiet visitors clubhouse, players scrolling on their phones at their lockers, spoke volumes about a missed opportunity Sunday. The Boston Red Sox stormed into San Francisco Friday night, the weight of the Rafael Devers trade five days prior looming large with the longtime slugger in the opposing dugout. Advertisement That night, Boston's offense scored its most runs in a game since Devers' departure, holding Devers hitless in return. But the opener proved the lone highlight of the weekend in an otherwise frustrating series for the Red Sox, one that culminated in a rough 9-5 loss to San Francisco on Sunday. Manager Alex Cora and outfielder Jarren Duran were ejected in the eighth when Duran was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double. The sloppy play that has characterized much of the season for the Red Sox had dissipated of late, but reared its head again Sunday. Two key errors led to five unearned runs on the day. It marked the second time this year the Red Sox had allowed five or more unearned runs in a game, with six unearned runs on April 11 in Chicago their worst. 'We've got to play better defense,' Cora said. 'The whole weekend was kind of sloppy in that department.' The Red Sox entered Sunday having won eight of their past 10 games with a chance to win their fifth straight series. They'd carried a business-as-usual approach since the massive trade that shocked the baseball world exactly one week ago. But after three games, they walked away with just one win, slouching back to 40-39. Against one of the league's best lefty starters in Robbie Ray, the Red Sox battled early, knocking him out after five innings and taking advantage of the Giants' own mistakes. But as they have too often this season, they let it slip away. The Giants took a 2-1 lead in the third when Duran and Nate Eaton, starting his first game for the Red Sox since being added to the roster following the Devers trade, converged in shallow left field and let a fly ball drop between them. 'It was just loud, I was calling for it, I don't think he heard me,' Duran said. 'He's a freak athlete. He got all the way out there, too. So it was just one of those things we haven't played together a lot.' Advertisement In the seventh, after the Red Sox had pulled ahead 5-4 on a Ceddanne Rafaela solo homer, Romy Gonzalez, starting just his second game at second base, dropped a routine line drive that allowed the go-ahead run to score. The Giants put up four runs in the inning. 'We're major leaguers, that play has to be made 100 out of 100 times,' Gonzalez said. David Hamilton, a stronger defender, sat Sunday with the left-hander Ray on the mound and Gonzalez's 1.020 OPS against lefties, needed in the lineup. Hamilton, meanwhile, had also made two miscues over the weekend at second. Gonzalez hit a solo homer off Ray in the fifth, but his error in the seventh let the game unravel. It highlighted the strains of an imperfect roster with many moving parts. Boston's baserunning mistakes returned Sunday, too. In the eighth, Duran led off with a shot down the right-field line and slid into second base, but came off the back for a millisecond and was tagged out. The play went under review, but the call stood. Duran argued and was thrown out. Cora charged out and was subsequently tossed too. Alex Cora doubles down on the call that Jarren Duran was ruled out on 🎙️ "He [was] safe. Clearly." — NESN (@NESN) June 22, 2025 Cora said he was more frustrated about a play earlier in the game when Abraham Toro was called out at home after a Rafaela double. As the ball came to the plate, Toro tried to jump around catcher Patrick Bailey and was called out for being out of the base path. 'My whole frustration at the end was more at that (Toro play) and obviously the first game, the check swings and all that,' Cora said. 'It is what it is. I hate to get thrown out, I hate it, but obviously I have to defend my player.' Cora insisted it was one sloppy series in the midst of a good stretch, but the Red Sox have lost their benefit of the doubt and need to keep proving they can play cleaner baseball more consistently. Advertisement More takeaways and notes from the weekend as the Red Sox head to Anaheim for three more games: Another day, another rotation injury. Sunday, the Red Sox placed right-hander Hunter Dobbins on the injury list with a right elbow strain. The team recalled right-hander Richard Fitts. Following Dobbins' start Friday against the Giants, in which he allowed five runs, four earned in four innings of work, Dobbins said he noticed a velocity drop to the low 90s. 'Nothing really felt right,' he said Friday. 'It kind of gets in your head when you look up at the velo board when you see 91 when you're expecting 96, so I'm going to see if it was something mechanical. 'You notice it, you kind of feel it, that kind of was the feeling I had,' he said. 'I knew I could generate it because it showed up a few times.' Cora said after the game that Dobbins played catch just before Sunday's game and felt slightly better, but the team opted to not push him in his next start. Fitts is expected to start in Dobbins' place Wednesday. Dobbins bounced back and forth between the Red Sox and Triple A Worcester over the first month of the season, first making a spot start for an injured Fitts (pectoral strain) and then entering the rotation more permanently when Walker Buehler landed on the IL with shoulder bursitis in early May. In 12 games, 10 starts, Dobbins posted a 4.10 ERA. Fitts started three games for the Red Sox at the start of the season, posting a 3.18 ERA, before missing six weeks with a pectoral strain then being optioned to Triple A Worcester. Over the weekend, Cora also revealed right-hander Kutter Crawford, who made 30 starts last year for Boston but has yet to make a start this season, had another setback while rebabbing in Fort Myers, Fla. Crawford began the year on the injury list with a right knee injury but over the course of the spring developed a wrist injury. He's flying back to Boston and will have tests on Monday. Advertisement 'The knee and the wrist, kind of like he wasn't able to generate velocity,' Crawford said. 'So that's a concern, a concern for him too, if he's trying to push something, then his shoulder comes into play. So shut him down. He'll be in Boston in the upcoming days, and we'll know more next week.' Tanner Houck, who's been on the IL with a flexor pronator strain since mid May, is set for a second rehab start Tuesday with Worcester. In addition to Crawford, Houck, Fitts, Dobbins and Buehler, the Red Sox also had starters Brayan Bello (shoulder strain) and Lucas Giolito (hamstring) miss time this season on the IL. When the Red Sox optioned Campbell to Worcester on Friday, they did so with the intention of helping him slow things down. Cora noted the purpose is not for Campbell to head back to Triple A and hit .500, but to work on fundamentals and on doing less. With that in mind as the WooSox head on a road trip to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this week, the Red Sox are keeping Campbell behind in Worcester to get in extra work with the team's development staff, including director of hitting Jason Ochart, hitting coordinator John Soteropulos and field coordinator Andrew Wright. 'Be aggressive early in counts, recognize the fastballs, the different types of them,' Cora said of what Campbell will work on. 'We all know what he struggled with. So give him a little bit of a reset and then walk him through what we want. So that's the thought process. But he needs to play. I think at the end of the day, you gain experience playing nine innings and going through every situation.' The plan is for Campbell to rejoin the WooSox in Scranton on Thursday or Friday. In 67 games, the 23-year-old Campbell won Rookie of the Month in April, but hit just .159 with a .465 OPS after May 1. Advertisement Reliever Jordan Hicks, acquired as part of the Devers trade, began a rehab assignment with Worcester on Sunday following a toe injury in early June. Hicks had a rocky first rehab outing, allowing a single, a two-run homer, a single and a walk. He got two outs, but was lifted after 23 pitches, 10 strikes. Cora suggested Hicks might be ready to join the Red Sox during their next homestand that begins Friday, but also noted they won't rush him since he hasn't pitched in three weeks. Hicks had started and relieved this year for San Francisco, but the Red Sox will use him out of the bullpen.

Newsweek

an hour ago

• Newsweek

Cubs Trade Idea For All-Star Flamethrower Would End Ryan Pressly 'Nightmare'

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. When the Chicago Cubs traded for Ryan Pressly in the offseason, they envisioned him being a dominant closer for their team. However, the two-time All-Star has a 4.03 ERA. The Cubs were leading the National League Central entering play on Sunday. However, the team may be interested in bringing in another option to close games, and preferably one with club control. Pressly will be a free agent after the season, and FanSided's Christopher Kline suggested the Cubs swing a blockbuster trade for Athletics' flamethrower Mason Miller to "end their Ryan Pressly Nightmare." TOKYO, JAPAN - MARCH 15: Ryan Pressly #55 of the Chicago Cubs throws in the bottom of the second inning against Hanshin Tigers at Tokyo Dome on March 15, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. TOKYO, JAPAN - MARCH 15: Ryan Pressly #55 of the Chicago Cubs throws in the bottom of the second inning against Hanshin Tigers at Tokyo Dome on March 15, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. Masterpress/Getty Images Miller, 26, was an All-Star last season and is under club control through 2029. His ERA is not as good as last season, but he still has an elite arsenal and would be a huge boost to any bullpen. He has a 5.02 ERA on the year. "It has been so rough that you can argue the Cubs would be better off targeting a more immediate and well-proven solution like Bednar or Bird," wrote Kline. "But in the end, Miller's arsenal and potential longevity makes him something of a dream addition, even if he has a few kinks left to work through in the near future. If Chicago can tempt the A's into the right package of prospects, Miller has a chance to headline the Cubs bullpen for many years to come." Trading a prospect haul for Miller would allow the Cubs to adopt a closer-by-committee approach, and then see him take over as the closer after Pressly's contract expires. Last season, Miller had a 2.49 ERA in 55 games and a 0.877 WHIP. He notched 28 saves on the season. More MLB: Trio of Cubs Relief Pitchers Turning In Surprising Stats This Season

Boston Globe

2 hours ago

• Boston Globe

The Red Sox' lackluster offense can't cover up for defensive mistakes

But with Alex Bregman and Triston Casas on the injured list and Rafael Devers now across the field playing for the Giants, the Red Sox have used 48 different lineups over 79 games, 70 when you include pitchers. 'The roster right now is very flexible,' manager Alex Cora said before the game. That's a polite way of saying, 'We have a lot of utility players.' Advertisement It worked for a while. Refsnyder and Gonzalez hit home runs and Eaton had two hits as the Sox scored four runs and knocked Giants starter Robbie Ray out of the game after five innings. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up But a small margin of error doesn't easily fade away. A two-run lead in the fifth inning turned into a mistake-filled 9-5 loss at Oracle Park. Instead of a fifth consecutive series win the Sox were left with regrets as they headed for Anaheim and the final three games of the road trip. The Sox were undone by little mistakes. Jarren Duran charged in from left field and bumped into Eaton while he was trying to catch a popup off the bat of Patrick Bailey in the third inning. Advertisement The ball fell to the turf as Duran was charged with an error. Duran said he called for the ball but Eaton didn't hear him. 'It's just about communication,' Cora said. With two on and two outs, Cora chose to pitch to Devers. Lucas Giolito got ahead, 0 and 2, then walked him. The last pitch was an automatic ball because the pitch clock ran out. A veteran pitcher can't let that happen. Heliot Ramos followed with a two-run single. In a 5-5 game in the seventh inning, the Giants had a runner at third with two outs when Mike Yastrzemski hit a line drive right at Gonzalez at second base. Inning over. Except Gonzalez took his eye off the ball and it deflected off his glove for an error. Gonzalez offered no excuses. 'We're major leaguers. That play has to be made,' he said. The Giants took full advantage of the mistake. Devers singled and Ramos followed with a two-run double off Justin Wilson. That gave the Giants five unearned runs. The Sox have allowed 49 unearned runs this season, by far the most in the American League and second only to the historically bad Rockies. They had four errors and eight unearned runs in this series alone. 'We've got to play better defense,' Cora said for what feels like the 50th time this season. Duran ran himself into more trouble in the eighth inning. He tried to stretch a single into a double but was thrown out by Yastrzemski when he slid past the bag. It was a close play and Cora asked for a review. The call by umpire Doug Eddings was upheld and Duran was ejected after he said something to Eddings while leaving the field. Advertisement It was Duran's first career ejection. Then Cora was tossed while defending Duran. Losing two of three on the road to one of the best teams in the National League is no disaster. But the Sox could have won the series if not swept the Giants. They've hit .194 in six games since trading Devers and averaged 3.16 runs. Defensive mistakes become magnified in that environment. That Bregman and Masataka Yoshida are making progress toward coming off the injured list is important. But Yoshida is at least a week away and Bregman more than that. The Sox are contending for a wild-card spot as the season approaches the halfway point. Every game they give away because of silly mistakes is one that could haunt them come September. Peter Abraham can be reached at