MLB, Twins investigate claim fan told Red Sox’s Duran to kill himself

A fan’s alleged command for Jarren Duran to kill himself at Target Field pushed a regular-season game into a sharper debate over where heckling ends and abuse begins. The Boston Red Sox outfielder said the comment came after his fifth-inning groundout Tuesday night in Minneapolis, and he answered with an obscene gesture as he walked back toward the dugout.

The Minnesota Twins said they were made aware of the situation late Tuesday and were investigating. Major League Baseball opened its own review, saying it would look at the conduct of both Duran and the fan before deciding whether any discipline was warranted. Target Field’s guest code of conduct says abusive behavior can lead to security intervention, ejection or arrest, and urges guests to report abusive conduct immediately.

Duran’s reaction landed with unusual force because of his public history with mental health. He previously revealed in a Netflix docuseries that he had battled severe depression and attempted suicide years before his All-Star breakthrough. ESPN reported that Duran said the pressures of the 2021 and 2022 seasons helped fuel those struggles.

The episode also exposed how quickly a taunt can become a safety issue for a player whose personal history makes the words more than background noise. Duran said he was used to harsh comments, but that he still should not have reacted the way he did. He also said he did not tell Alex Cora or teammates right away because he did not want to be a distraction.

Cora said he had not personally seen the confrontation, but believed the Twins were taking it seriously and said the Red Sox had Duran’s back. Duran was back in left field on Wednesday night and played all nine innings in Boston’s 9-5 win over Minnesota, going 0-for-5 with a run scored.

Duran is 29, was born in Corona, California, and was drafted by Boston in the seventh round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Long Beach State. His case has now become more than one ugly moment in one ballpark. It is a reminder that leagues and clubs are being pushed to treat verbal harassment not as a public-relations nuisance, but as a matter of player safety and institutional responsibility.