The Twins made a Christmas Eve move to add to their utility depth with the acquisition of the multipositional Mickey Gasper from the Red Sox in a trade for left-handed reliever Jovani Moran, who missed the entire 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

While not a major move, the 29-year-old Gasper will join the Twins¡¯ 40-man roster as another infield option with some experience at catcher, following a season during which he made his Major League debut with Boston and went 0-for-18 with four walks while playing second base, first base and designated hitter.

Gasper was a 27th-round Draft selection by the Yankees in 2018 and played primarily first base and catcher in the Minors. He has a career .841 OPS in the Minor Leagues with strong contact ability and most recently hit .328/.439/.531 in 92 games with Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester in 2024.

TRADE DETAILS
Twins receive: UTIL Mickey Gasper
Red Sox receive: LHP Jovani Moran

It¡¯s ultimately unclear whether he¡¯ll factor into the Twins¡¯ roster picture, but first-base depth is an area of need for the organization, with Jose Miranda and Edouard Julien currently lined up to platoon at the position assuming they don¡¯t make an external acquisition.

Because Carlos Santana signed with the Guardians on Tuesday, what appeared the neatest possible external fit at first base is no longer on the table -- and in terms of internal options, onetime top-30 prospect Yunior Severino does not seem to factor into the Twins¡¯ big league plans despite his demonstrated power in the Minors.

Moran¡¯s departure ultimately leaves bigger questions in the Twins¡¯ left-handed relief group, which currently does not have any proven options following Caleb Thielbar¡¯s departure in free agency following the ¡®24 season.

Though Kody Funderburk pitched well in the Minors, he has pitched to a 5.01 ERA in 38 big league appearances across parts of two seasons, and Brent Headrick -- who thus far has served only as a long relief swingman and depth starting option -- is the only other left-handed pitcher on the 40-man roster.

Moran was no sure option, either, even before his surgery. Though his name had popped up as part of Rule 5 Draft rumors (the Twins removed him from their 40-man roster and re-signed him to a Minors deal following the procedure), his continued struggles with control limited him to a 4.15 ERA with 112 strikeouts and 52 walks in 91 innings across parts of three seasons.

Despite the success of Moran¡¯s go-to changeup -- a true out pitch -- his control struggles had prevented him from taking the next step into a consistent leverage role, even following a successful 2022 in which he posted a 2.21 ERA and 1.06 WHIP.