Red Sox Offseason Acquisition Begins Rehab Assignment

You can never have enough pitching, especially when it comes to the bullpen. The Boston Red Sox could soon be adding a reliever to their never ending carousel of bullpen arms.

Jovani Moran, who was acquired this offseason from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for Mickey Gasper, began a rehab assignment on Tuesday. Moran hasn’t pitched in a major league game since 2023 due to Tommy John surgery.

In 2023, Moran appeared in 43 games for the Twins and posted a 5.31 ERA. Command was an issue for the lefty, who walked 14.7% of the hitters he faced.

While that may not seem like a pitcher you want to get excited about, there’s some upside in his arm. In 2022, his strikeout rate was 32.9%. It fell to 26.1% in 2023, but that’s still a respectable number. Lefties also hit just .190 against him in his most recent campaign. His stuff backs up the output as well.

Prior to injury, Moran’s changeup was his best weapon. Nearly one in every four changeups he threw in 2023 resulted in a whiff despite a low zone rate. His fastball also has great vertical movement creating a flat attack angle. He’ll need to be in the zone more often, but he has the stuff of a great bullpen option.

No pitcher in the league appeared in more games in May than Brennan Bernardino, who shouldered the load for the Red Sox as the first lefty out of the bullpen. The heavy burden may have taken a toll on the southpaw, who saw his fastball velocity drop slightly in his most recent appearance on June 9th.

If Bernardino needs some time off, Moran could slot into that role as a second lefty in the pen. Chris Murphy is also rehabbing an injury and could potentially join the team soon.

Moran threw 2/3 of an inning and allowed one run on two hits in his first rehab appearance at High-A Greenville. He stuck out one.