The Reds positioned left-hander Sam Moll on the 15-day injured record at the moment, and referred to as up righty Casey Legumina from Triple-A Louisville in a corresponding transfer. Moll is coping with a left shoulder impingement, and it’s “unlikely” that he’ll return earlier than the season is over, because the southpaw advised Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Moll has been making an attempt to pitch by way of the damage for a couple of weeks, and the difficulty would possibly even date again to final season, when Moll mentioned he was additionally making an attempt to pitch by way of some shoulder discomfort as a way to contribute to a contending Reds group. Coming into this season, Moll started the yr on the 15-day injured record and didn’t make his season debut till April 23.
“I clearly don’t need it to snowball to what it did final offseason, the place it screwed up my offseason so far as preparation and main into clearly what I handled earlier this yr,” Moll mentioned. It isn’t but recognized if Moll will simply have to relaxation his shoulder, or if some sort of process might be wanted to deal with the issue.
Regardless of the dearth of a correct ramp-up within the spring, Moll nonetheless delivered some high quality innings out of Cincinnati’s bullpen. If that is certainly it for his 2024 marketing campaign, he’ll end the season with a 3.35 ERA, 25% strikeout fee, 9.2% stroll fee, and 46.9% grounder fee over 37 2/3 innings and 48 appearances. Moll isn’t a very arduous thrower, however his sinker and sweeper are plus pitches that induce numerous mushy contact. Left-handed batters have solely a .430 OPS in 63 plate appearances in opposition to Moll this yr, and he has additionally been efficient in opposition to righty swingers to the tune of a .719 OPS in 89 PA.
This strong 2024 season comes on the heels of the 0.73 ERA Moll posted within the 24 2/3 innings he pitched for the Reds in 2023 after Cincinnati acquired him from the A’s on the commerce deadline. A veteran of 5 MLB seasons, Moll might be arbitration-eligible for the primary time this winter as he enters his age-33 season. If no injury-related issues intervene with the Reds’ determination to tender Moll a contract, he’ll be in line for a pleasant increase to get him out of the minimum-salary vary.
