HOUSTON—On Sunday night, left-handed reliever Jovani Mor had just finished packing his bags for Triple-A Worcester’s road trip to Iowa when WooSox manager Chad Tracy called him.
“That’s good that you finished your luggage, because you are not going to Iowa,” Tracy just told me. “You’re headed to Houston,” Morn remarked.
The 28-year-old claimed that he was caught off guard when he learned that he had been promoted to the Boston Red Sox. He hung up with Tracy and then contacted his father, a lifelong Red Sox supporter.
He’s overjoyed,” Morn remarked. “I called my parents for the first time because of that. He was also quite sentimental.
Prior to their game against the Astros at Daikin Park on Monday, the Red Sox made five roster changes, including selecting Morn’s contract from Worcester.
He replaced Chris Murphy, a left-handed reliever, on the active roster. Murphy struggled with five walks in two outings over the weekend in San Diego, so Boston optioned him to Worcester.
This past Christmas Eve, Boston first acquired Morn from the Twins in return for catcher/infielder Mickey Gasper.
He hasn’t played in the main leagues since 2023. He had Tommy John surgery in November 2023, which kept him out of action for the whole previous season.
“It feels fantastic,” he remarked. It has been quite emotional to be back in the major leagues. I’ve been in rehab for the past two years, and I was in Fort Myers about two months ago, trying to stay healthy. And it feels great to be here now.
The Dominican Republic is where Mor’s father is originally from. He has a Puerto Rican mother. Puerto Rico is where the family resides.
Pedro Martinez and David Ortiz have contributed to the D.R.’s sizable Red Sox fan base. It is therefore not surprising that his father was a Boston supporter growing up.
His father wore Red Sox apparel. However, he put the outfit aside when his son was selected by the Twins in the seventh round of the 2015 MLB Draft from Puerto Rico’s Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy.
“My whole family, my friends, my girlfriend, I know everybody in Puerto Rico is gonna be watching,” he stated.
He claimed that on one or two occasions, he considered not returning to the majors.
“Last night I couldn t almost sleep thinking (about) having the opportunity to be on the mound,” said the pitcher.
In the majors, he has had some success. As a rookie in 2022, he pitched 40 innings out of the bullpen with a 2.21 ERA.
In 2023, he pitched 42 innings for Minnesota with a 5.31 ERA, but his anticipated figures were significantly higher. His predicted batting average was.211 and his expected ERA was 3.69. He also had a remarkable hard hit percentage of 27.5% and a whiff percentage of 37.0%.
It was difficult,” he remarked. “I had a difficult procedure after being DFA’d and having surgery. I tried to do my best, stay healthy, and do my things correctly because it seemed like everything was occurring in a short period of time.
“He’s close to the version that Minnesota had,” manager Alex Cora continued. With his changeup, this man can also get righties out. I’m glad he’s here, and it’s a fantastic story.”
After spring training, Morn stayed in Fort Myers to finish his rehabilitation. Following a 14-day rehab assignment with High-A Greenville, Worcester activated him on June 24.
He is happy with his command of the ball at Worcester, where he pitched 18 innings with a 3.44 ERA, 26 strikeouts, and just three walks.
“I’ve been getting ahead in the count and throwing a lot of strikes,” he added. That, in my opinion, has been crucial lately.
Throughout his career, Morn has mainly depended on his changeup and fastball.
“The changeup is my best pitch,” he remarked. However, I’ve been hurling sliders and cutters.
