Meet The New Guys: Brian Moran

Brian Moran is a 31 year old left handed reliever who joined the Jays on a minor league deal, and will be attempting to make the bullpen with a strong spring training once the season starts back up. His name might sound familiar to Jays fans, as he was actually a rule 5 pick for the Jays in 2013. However, he was quickly flipped to the Angels before he debuted with Toronto.

Brian — the brother of Pirates third baseman Colin Moran — made his MLB debut in 2019 with the Miami Marlins. Over 10 games he only managed to throw 6.1 innings last year while throwing to a 4.26 ERA for the fish, which wasn’t convincing enough to be retained by the club going into the offseason. Although his HR/9, BB/9, and K/9 were all solid, he really struggled to limit hits, finishing with an 8.5 H/9.

To look at a larger sample size, his minor league numbers are where to go. After 10 years in the minor leagues, Moran compiled a good resume, and many considered it surprising it took so long to debut. Although he never put up incredible numbers, he holds 3.67 ERA in his 5 years in AAA, and his numbers only get better at each level lower, sinking to the mid 1.00s in A and advanced A. Moran has proved to be a consistent arm, and could be an asset for Toronto at the Major League level.

Although at age 31 Moran won’t be a long term fixture with the team, he could be a mainstay in the bullpen for a few years. His solid numbers at AAA combined with the Jays lack of left handed relievers could set him up as one of the main lefty bullpen options in 2020, meaning he has a serious shot at being a full time major leaguer. With Mayza out, and Panonne being the only real bullpen arm remaining, it will be up to Moran to step up. He still has six years of team control, so this could be a very underrated pickup for the Jays in an area of need. Despite a rocky spring training start, he will have another chance when spring training resumes, and they will be some of the most important games in his career, as this might be his last chance.