Chris Sale really wanted to see Jarren Duran make the Major League Baseball All-Star Game so much so that he was texting his former manager before the official announcement.
The former Boston Red Sox pitcher crashed Jarren Duran’s All-Star Game interview on MLB Network on Monday afternoon in Texas and revealed that he sent a text to Alex Cora about the speedy outfielder.
“Please tell me Duran made it,” Sale, now with the Atlanta Braves, said on the MLB Network set. “And he did. I was like, ‘Dude, this guy’s an absolute spark plug for that team.”
Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran
Duran is batting .284 with 10 home runs, 41 RBI and 22 stolen bases. He’s aggressive on the base path and utilizes his speed to stretch singles into doubles all while making it look easy.
Sale and Duran were teammates in Boston for three seasons before the Red Sox traded Sale to Atlanta ahead of the 2024 MLB season. Things weren’t always great for Duran, who opened up about his mental health to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo in 2022, but Sale was someone who helped Duran during the pitcher’s time with the Red Sox.
“I miss this guy as a teammate, that’s for sure,” Duran said on MLB Network. “He was one of my guys I looked up to. We talked every single day. There were a lot of moments that I went up to him and asked him for advice because I knew I was struggling with some stuff. And he really put me under his wing and helped me out a lot. So, I’m very thankful for him.”
It’s possible Sale and Duran face one another in Tuesday’s All-Star Game. Duran isn’t on the starting roster, but it’s likely he’ll see action in the later innings for the American League. Paul Skenes will start for the National League, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Sale see an inning or two.
