Ezequiel Duran

Be it by design or happenstance, Duran fanned at a career-low clip in 2024, but it came at the expense of exit velocity and the resulting drops in hard-hit rate and barrel rate. The declines cost Duran playing time as he was often eschewed, even with three-quarters of the Rangers infield missing chunks of action. After posting a .619 OPS, Duran was demoted to Triple-A Round Rock in late June, where he stayed for a month. Things got worse after he returned with Duran recording a .591 OPS the rest of the way. Duran appeared everywhere but catcher, so his versatility is ideal for a Swiss army knife role. Dual eligibility (with the chance of more) is a plus, but unless Duran gets back to driving the ball, he's relegated to AL-only duty. Read Past Outlooks