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 inducing grounders has helped him achieve success in the minors and (in limited fashion) at the big league level. Control is his biggest question mark, as Moran has a 13.5% walk rate over his 91 career MLB innings and a 12.36BB% in 257 2/3 innings of minor league ball.
Moran joins Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson as left-handed additions to the Red Sox bullpen mix this offseason, though Moran is more of a depth option at this point depending on his health and his form after the long layoff. While he probably won’t be ready for the Opening Day roster, some time in the minors might help Moran fully recover and get some innings under his belt before the Red Sox consider him for any possible role in their big league bullpen.
The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman writes that Moran received some attention from teams heading into the Rule 5 Draft, and in fact it was Gasper who came to the Red Sox from the Yankees organization in the minor league version of the 2023 Rule R5. The selection resulted in Gasper’s first taste of big league action, though he didn’t record a hit in his 23 plate appearances over 13 games for the Sox this season.
Gasper played first and second base during his brief time in the Show, but the majority of his career has come behind the plate. Gasper’s ability to both catch and play other positions (primarily first and second, with a handful of games as a third baseman and left fielder) adds to his versatility, not to mention his switch-hitting bat. This creates a possible opening for Gasper to win a bench job in Minnesota, as a third catcher and general utilityman behind the Twins’ catching tandem of Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vazquez. It remains to be seen if the Twins will be able to trade Vazquez and get any of his contract off the books, yet if so, Gasper could be a candidate as Jeffers’ backup.
Gasper was a 27th-round pick for the Yankees in the 2018 draft, but he carved a path for himself through New York’s farm system with some strong numbers at every step of the minor league ladder. Over an even 1600 minor league PA, Gasper has hit .275/.392/.449 with 48 homers, and those numbers include nine home runs and a .317/.422/.498 slash line in 282 PA at the Triple-A level.