Jarren Duran and the Red Sox have negotiated a new contract for the 2026 season, agreeing to a deal worth $7.7 million with an additional $75,000 that can be earned via incentives. Duran was not a free agent, of course; we’re talking about arbitration negotiations here. And, interestingly, the Sox had an $8 million option they could have picked up, which had been negotiated in the lead-up to arbitration last offseason. In lieu of picking it up, the Sox paid Duran a $100,000 buyout and negotiated the new deal. If it seems weird that the Sox would do this merely to save $125,000 — which is the difference between the $8 million option and the $7.875 million they’ll pay him if he hits his incentives — I agree! That is weird! What is going on here!

The big question, of course, is what this dea

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