Red Sox outfielder Adam Duvall was traded at the deadline in 2015, 2018 and 2021. He hopes to still be wearing a Red Sox uniform when the trade deadline comes this season. Charles Krupa/Associated Press
BOSTON — Adam Duvall is no stranger to the perils of the trade deadline.
Three times in his career, once as recently as two summers ago, Duvall has been traded around the late-summer deadline. In 2015, before he had even established himself as a big leaguer, he was shipped from the San Francisco Giants to the Cincinnati Reds. Three years later, he was dealt from the Reds to the Atlanta Braves. And in 2021, having left the Braves as a free agent, he was traded back to Atlanta from Miami.
Duvall has been there, done that. And he hopes that the past is not again prologue over the next 10 days.
“It’s one of those things,” said Duvall with a shrug after he knocked in two runs on two hits in the Red Sox’s 6-1 victory over the New York Mets on Sunday night. “It comes every year. I’ve never signed a multi-year deal, so I’m not ignorant to it. I know there’s always talk. But I really try and stay focused on what I’m trying to do here, and that’s helping this ballclub win.
“I enjoy showing up with this group of guys every day and I feel like we’e playing really good baseball right now. I don’t have any control over (what happens), but like I said, I enjoy showing up with this group every single day. It’s been fun to watch guys get better, watch guys get acclimated. We’re really trending in the right direction.”
Indeed, the Red Sox have gone 20-12 in their last 32 games, the second-best mark in the American League in that span, to draw within two games of the final wild-card spot.
But even if the Red Sox, buoyed by their improved play, try to add pieces for the final two months, they could still deal off Duvall. The emergence of Jarren Duran in center, coupled with the presence of corner outfielders Masataka Yoshida and Alex Verdugo, gives the Sox an already strong outfield group.
The Sox could conceivably trade Duvall – the Braves are said to have some interest in yet another reunion with him – to acquire some pitching or fill other needs. Duvall would have value to a number of teams seeking right-handed power and a capable defender in all three outfield spots.
The fact that he’s on an affordable, one-year deal worth $7 million – which would translate into being owed approximately $2.3 million for the remainder of the season – makes him even more marketable.
Duvall began the year with a splash, belting four homers and knocking in 14 runs in the first eight games. But then he suffered a broken wrist in the second week of the season, causing him to miss two months. He struggled for a while to get his timing back upon his return and is hitting just .194 since coming off the IL.
Lately, though, he’s been having better at-bats and has nine RBI in his last 11 games, which has led to increased speculation about him being sent elsewhere.
“Honestly, I’ve heard people talk, but I haven’t read anything,” said Duvall. “I try and stay away from it. Because there’s always going to be noise, there’s always going to be something distracting you. I truly believe that, you know what, I can show up today and help the team win. Like I said, I enjoy being with the group of guys.”
He also knows that wanting to remain with the Red Sox won’t necessarily make it so. On a couple of occasions, he wasn’t terribly surprised to learn he was being traded. But in 2021, when the Marlins sent him back to Atlanta, he was caught off guard.
“It was one o’clock on the day of the deadline and I was getting ready to leave for the park and got a call and was on a flight an hour later,” said Duvall. “But I feel like I’ve always done a god job of not really focusing on it. I enjoy showing up at the park and that’s what I do. I don’t really put too much into the noise.’’
Having experienced what it’s like to be traded during the season three times, Duvall has learned how to cope with the unexpected. But that doesn’t mean he’d welcome a move sometime between now and the Aug. 1 deadline.
“It’s never easy,” he said. “You’ve got to pick your family up and move and find a place. You’re starting the season all over again. I know that it’s not easy. (No matter how often it’s happened), I don’t know that you be prepared for it, because I’m trying to stay mentally focused on where I’m at right now that I don’t even let myself go to, ‘OK, well if this were to happen…’ I don’t even go there.
“It’ll be a surprise to me if something happens. I really like this group of guys.”
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