Red Sox, Twins lined up in Christmas Eve trade, will see southpaw Yovani Moran Traded to Boston for catcher/first baseman Mickey Gaspar. Hunter Noll of Beyond The Monster first reported the deal, which has been officially announced by both teams.
Moran underwent Tommy John surgery last offseason, resulting in the Twins not tendering him before re-signing the left-hander to another minor league deal. Moran, who naturally hasn’t played during his rehab in 2024, will now look to return to the mound in Boston as the 27-year-old changes the organization for the first time in his career.
Moran, a seventh-round pick by the Twins in the 2015 draft, also missed all of the minor league seasons in 2016 (due to injury) and 2020 (the pandemic-canceled season). Moran eventually made his MLB debut in eight innings for the Twins in 2021, before breaking out with a 2.21 ERA in 40 2/3 relief innings for Minnesota in 2022. That strong ERA is backed up by the rate.
Moran posted a 5.31 ERA, 41.9% ground ball rate, and 26.1% strikeout rate in 42 1/3 games in 2023, and his season ended with a forearm injury after being drafted to Triple-A in early August. Ended early due to strain.
Despite lacking a big fastball, Moran’s ability to miss the bat and induce ground balls helped him succeed at the minor league and (in a limited way) major league levels. Control is his biggest question mark, as Moran has a walk rate of 13.5% in 91 career MLB innings and 12.36% in 257 2/3 minor league innings.
Moran joins Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson Serving as a left-handed addition to the Red Sox bullpen mix this offseason, though Moran is more of a depth option at this point, depending on his health and status after a long layoff. While he may not be ready for the Opening Day roster just yet, some time in the minor leagues could help Moran fully recover and get some innings in before the Red Sox consider him for any possible role in the major league bullpen. number.
Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic writes that Moran is receiving some attention from teams entering the Rule 5 draft, and in fact, Gaspar comes to the Red Sox from the Yankees in the minor league version of Rule R5 in 2023. The selection gave Gasper his first taste of the major leagues, although he had no hits in 23 plate appearances in 13 games with the Red Sox this season.
Gaspar played first and second base during his brief acting career, but spent most of his career behind the plate. Gasper can both catch and play other positions (primarily first and second base, with a handful of games as third base and left field), which adds to his versatility, not to mention his changeup The bat is gone. This creates a possible opportunity for Gasper to earn a backup job in Minnesota as the third receiver and utility player behind the Twins’ receiving tandem. Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vazquez. Whether the Twins are able to trade Vazquez and void his contract remains to be seen, but if so, Gaspar could be a candidate to replace Jeffers.
Gaspar was the Yankees’ 27th-round pick in the 2018 draft, but he carved a path for himself in New York’s farm system, putting up some strong numbers every step of the way in the minor leagues. Gasper hit .275/.392/.449 with 48 homers in a minor league average of 1,600 PA, those numbers included 9 homers and .317/.422/.498 in 282 PA in Triple-A slash.
