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Newest Red Sox trade acquisition thinks he can hit for more power; ‘I’ve always been a good pull hitter’
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- Newest Red Sox trade acquisition thinks he can hit for more power; ‘I’ve always been a good pull hitter’
FORT MYERS, Fla. — New Red Sox trade addition Caleb Durbin , a right-handed hitting infielder, thinks he can hit for more power now that he’s playing 81 home games a season at Fenway Park.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow had mentioned Monday that he thinks Durbin’s swing would play well at Fenway because of his ability to pull the ball in the air. Durbin had a 20.4% pull air percentage in 2025 when he finished third for the NL Rookie of the Year.
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“I think I’ve always been a good pull hitter,” Durbin said here at JetBlue Park on Wednesday. “And I obviously like to think that I can use the whole field. You want to be a complete hitter, but definitely something I’m looking forward to.”
He’s actually been looking forward to pulling the ball in the air at Fenway for a while.
“I’ve always said, like, ‘I hope I get a chance to play a lot of games at Fenway,’” Durbin said.
That’s because he enjoyed playing at Boston ’s minor league affiliates High-A Greenville and Double-A Portland. Both have parks with replica Green Monsters.
“Played a lot there and had some success,” Durbin said. “So definitely looking forward to it.”
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In 2025, Durbin finished in the 98th percentile in strikeout percentage (9.9%) and the 96th percentile in whiff percentage (13.0%). He also ranked in the 95th percentile in squared-up percentage (33.3%).
But Durbin’s expected slugging percentage, barrel percentage, average exit velocity and hard-hit percentage all ranked in the 16th percentile or below.
The 5-foot-7, 183-pounder also hit 11 homers and slugged only .387 in 136 games (506 plate appearances).
Durbin, who will turn 26 on Feb. 22, said he feels he can improve in every area offensively.
“I was pleased with bat-to-ball, strikeouts and stuff,” Durbin said. “Was able to play at this level and I was just continuing to push the envelope of batted balls, exit velo, all that stuff. Bat speed. Those are stuff that’s kind of low hanging fruit that I could get a lot better at.”
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The Red Sox view Durbin as an everyday player, but they have not yet decided whether he will play second base or third base.
He said his conversations with Breslow and manager Alex Cora about his position have been “super brief.”
He had five defensive runs saved in 1,060 ⅔ innings at third base last year. He had minus-1 defensive runs saved in 43 ⅓ innings at second base.
“I know they want to have more conversations in-depth,” he said. “Kind of getting everyone on the same page as far as comfortability at each spot. So definitely we’ll have more on that a little bit later.”
He said he’s willing to play whatever position puts the Red Sox in the best position to win.
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“I played up the middle most of my life. Played short throughout college, second base mostly in the minors,” he said. “Started working third base a little bit later on in my career in the minor leagues, and then got a full season’s worth in the big leagues last year at third. So kind of got a good amount of experience at each position.”
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