8:00pm: Moll was indeed released after crossing five years of MLB service this year, according to the MLB.com transaction log. That gave him the right to decline a minor league assignment while collecting the rest of his $875K arbitration salary.

1:37pm: Left-handed reliever Sam Moll went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment by the Reds and is now a free agent, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The team hasn’t formally announced the move yet, so it’s not clear whether he rejected an outright assignment or cleared release waivers, but either way, Moll is free to pursue opportunities with any club at this point.

The 34-year-old Moll has pitched 56 1/3 innings in the majors this year, logging a 4.79 ERA with a 21.8% strikeout rate and 11.7% walk rate that are both worse than league average (the latter, particularly so). His 51.6% ground-ball rate is quite strong, and lefties have managed only a feeble .217/.311/.296 line against him this year. Right-handed opponents, however, have torched Moll with a .293/.408/.475 batting line in 122 plate appearances.

Moll has spent three-plus seasons in the Reds organization. He was brilliant in 2023-24, working to a combined 2.31 ERA (24 K%, 10 BB%, 48.1 GB%) in 65 1/3 innings, but Moll has dealt with shoulder troubles that have slowed him and ostensibly taken their toll on his efficacy in recent seasons. Excellent as Moll was in 2024, he was limited to 37 2/3 innings when a shoulder impingement sent him to the IL on multiple occasions. He had three IL stints for a shoulder impingement in 2024-25 and also missed time with a shoulder strain back in 2022 with the A’s.

Moll’s average four-seamer is down 1.5 miles per hour from its peak. His sinker is down just over two miles per hour from its top level. That’s not a major shock for any mid-30s reliever — particularly one with four IL placements due to shoulder injuries over the past five seasons. He still sits 92.6 mph on his four-seamer and induces plenty of weak contact, though.

While Moll wouldn’t be eligible for the postseason roster with a new organization, any club that picks him up could take a look at him for the final couple weeks of regular-season play and would control him through next season via arbitration. Then again, with under three weeks to play in the current season, teams might simply wait until the offseason and try to bring him into the fold on a non-roster deal with an invitation to spring training.