The Red Sox and Twins have lined up on a Christmas Eve trade that will see left-hander Jovani Moran head to Boston in exchange for catcher/first baseman Mickey Gasper . Hunter Noll of Beyond The Monster was the first to report the deal, and both teams have officially announced the trade. Moran underwent Tommy John surgery last offseason, leading to the Twins to non-tender him before re-signing the southpaw to another minor league deal.
Moran naturally didn’t pitch at all in 2024 while rehabbing, and he’ll now look to return to the mound in Boston, as the 27-year-old is changing organizations for the first time in his career. A seventh-round pick for the Twins in the 2015 draft, Moran also missed full minor league seasons in 2016 (due to injury) and in 2020 (the pandemic-canceled season). Moran finally made his MLB debut in the form of eight innings for the Twins in 2021, and he then seemingly broke out with a 2.
21 ERA over 40 2/3 relief innings for Minnesota in 2022. Moran supported that strong ERA with a 32.9% strikeout rate and 48.
9% grounder rate, yet both his peripherals and his bottom-line results went backwards the next year. Moran had a 5.31 ERA, 41.
9% grounder rate, and 26.1% strikeout rate in 42 1/3 frames in 2023, and after being optioned to Triple-A at the start of his August, his season was prematurely ended by a forearm strain in September that led to his eventual TJ surgery. Despite the lack of a big fastball, Moran’s ability to miss bats and his knack for.
