Who’s Jovani Morán? Boston Red Sox roster addition has ‘cool story’

Jovani Moran is joining the Red Sox bullpen in Houston on Monday. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)Getty Images

Left-handed reliever Jovani Morán had just finished packing his luggage on Sunday evening for Triple-A Worcester’s road trip to Iowa when he received a call from WooSox manager Chad Tracy.

“(Tracy) just told me, ‘That’s good that you finished your luggage, because you are not going to Iowa. You’re going to Houston,’” Morán said.

The 28-year-old said the news of his promotion to the Boston Red Sox took him by surprise. After hanging up with Tracy, he called his dad, who’s been a longtime Red Sox fan.

“He’s very happy,” Morán said. “That was the first person that I called — my mom and dad. And he was very emotional.”

The Red Sox selected Morán’s contract from Worcester, one of five roster moves Monday before their game against the Astros here at Daikin Park.

He took lefty reliever Chris Murphy’s spot on the active roster. Boston optioned Murphy to Worcester after he struggled with five walks in two appearances in San Diego over the weekend.

Boston initially acquired Morán from the Twins this past Christmas Eve in exchange for catcher/infielder Mickey Gasper.

This is his first stint in the majors since 2023. He missed all last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in November 2023.

“It feels amazing,” he said. “Being back at the big league level, it’s been very emotional. Like I had the last two years been doing rehab and probably like two months ago I was in Fort Myers trying to be healthy. And now being here feels amazing.”

Morán’s dad is originally from the Dominican Republic. His mother is Puerto Rican. The family lives in Puerto Rico.

The D.R. has a large Red Sox fan base thanks in part to Pedro Martinez and David Ortiz. And so it’s no surprise his dad grew up rooting for Boston.

His dad used to wear Red Sox clothing. But he tucked the attire away after the Twins drafted his son in the seventh round in 2015 out of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico,

“My whole family, my friends, my girlfriend, I know everybody in Puerto Rico is gonna be watching,” he said.

He said the thought of never making it back to the majors crossed his mind once or twice.

“Last night I couldn’t almost sleep thinking (about) having the opportunity to be on the mound,” he said.

He’s had some success in the majors, including posting a 2.21 ERA in 40 ⅔ innings out of the bullpen in 2022 as a rookie.

He had a 5.31 ERA in 42 ⅓ innings for Minnesota in 2023 but his expected numbers were much better. He had a 3.69 expected ERA and .211 expected batting average. He also had an impressive 37.0% whiff percentage and 27.5% hard hit percentage.

“It was tough,” he said. “I got DFA’d and then the surgery and it was a tough process. Like everything was happening in a small amount of time, and I just tried to do my best, be healthy, do my stuff right.”

Manager Alex Cora added, “He’s close to the version that Minnesota had. This is a guy that can get righties out, too, with his changeup. It’s a cool story and I’m happy that he’s here.”

Morán remained in Fort Myers after spring training to continue his rehab process. Worcester activated him June 24, after a 14-day rehab assignment with High-A Greenville.

He is pleased with the way he commanded the baseball at Worcester where he had a 3.44 ERA, 26 strikeouts and just three walks in 18 ⅓ innings.

“I’ve been throwing a lot of strikes, I’ve been getting ahead in the count,” he said. “I think that’s been the key right now.”

Morán has relied heavily on his fastball and changeup throughout his career.

“That’s my best pitch, the changeup,” he said. “But I’ve been throwing cutters, sliders.”