Is Jovani Morán the Missing Piece in the Red Sox's Bullpen Puzzle?

The Boston Red Sox currently have a bullpen problem, at least when it comes to the lack of left-hand options available for manager Alex Cora. Currently on the 40-man roster, there are ten left-handed pitchers and, of those arms, eight are viewed as either being in the rotation or depth for the rotation in the event of an injury. Another is closer Aroldis Chapman. The lone player who doesn't fit either description may soon be a secret weapon for Cora as the season draws nearer.

Jovani Morán was acquired from the Minnesota Twins on Christmas eve in 2024 for Mickey Gasper, a move at the time seemed to be rather small and inconsequential. Morán had missed the entire 2024 season after having Tommy John surgery in November of 2023 and there were no sure bets he would rebound and be more like his 2022 self (2.21 ERA, 54 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings) compared to his 2023 self (5.31 ERA, 48 strikeouts in 42 1/3 innings). It was a risk worth taking, as Gasper was getting moved off the roster regardless.

Morán ended up missing the first two months of the 2025 season while still recovering from surgery before finally beginning his rehab in June. His numbers were about what you would expect, making six appearances between the Red Sox Complex team and High-A Greenville and tossing 7 2/3 innings while allowing four earned runs.

Upon being activated from the injured list, Morán was sent to Worcester, where he began to look like a potential weapon out of the bullpen. In his first 12 appearances there, he tossed 18 1/3 innings while allowing just seven earned runs and striking out 26 batters. That included a stretch of 7 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball. With the Red Sox needing an arm, they selected his contract and added him to the active roster. His stint with Boston didn’t last long, though, as he appeared in just two games where he tossed four innings before spending the rest of the season with Worcester.

However, Morán remained on the 40-man roster through the end of the season and while other left-handed options such as Chris Murphy and Brennan Bernardino have been moved in trades that brought back minor-league talent, Morán has remained.

The left-hander, who relies on a four-pitch mix of a fastball, changeup, slider, and curveball, is out of options and will have to break camp with the Red Sox. While there is no guarantee that the team won't bring in another left-handed reliever, Morán looks likely to break camp as the middle-innings southpaw. For those doubting his upside, his recent stint in the Puerto Rican Winter League may be showing why the Red Sox kept him out of all their left-handed bullpen arms.

Making 11 appearances out of the bullpen for Criollos de Caguas, Morán has gone 1-1 with an ERA of 0.82 across 11 innings. His fastball, which saw a drop in velocity while recovering from Tommy John surgery, is back to its pre-surgery velocity of 93-95 mph. In 2025, it routinely sat 92-94 mph (and with Boston it averaged 92.3 mph) so the slight increase is a welcome addition for Morán. Across his 11 innings, he has allowed just four hits while striking out 15 batters, flashing the potential that he showcased at the start of his career.

Should Morán fully return to his pre-injury self, the Red Sox could have a dangerous weapon out of the bullpen. In 2022, batters hit just .172 against him, their OPS being just .490 as he struck out nearly 33% of the hitters he faced. Plus, throughout his career, he has managed to limit hard contact against him, rocking a career 27.4% hard-hit rate while batters have only managed to barrel up his pitches 5.1% of the time. Even the average exit velocity he allows is low, sitting at 85.7 mph for his career, which, across a full season, would have placed him near the very top of the league.

At his best in 2022 and 2023, had he qualified, Morán would have been near the top of the league for whiff rate. The 2022 campaign saw him get just under 39% of whiffs on the pitches he threw, while 2023 saw that number drop slightly to 37%.

Along with that, he’s fared equally well against right-handed and left-handed batters, which could allow Cora to mix and match when and where he’s used in the game. Morán may not seem it, but he could very well provide Cora with a key arm that could help bridge the middle innings to the back end of the bullpen, especially if a starter is struggling to get past the fifth inning.

However, there is no telling what is going on in Craig Breslow’s mind as he shapes the roster over the remainder of the offseason. There’s still a lot of time between now and the start of the season, so plans could change. But the fact that the Red Sox held onto Morán could signal that they view him as an important piece of their bullpen puzzle in 2026 — and perhaps as the heir apparent to Justin Wilson's soon-to-be-vacated role as the set-up southpaw to Chapman.