The Colorado Rockies on Wednesday announced the trade of relief pitching prospect Sam Moll to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
Moll, 25, posted a 4.18 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 47 1⁄3 innings for the Albuquerque Isotopes. The left-hander owns a 3.46 ERA, 8.4 K/9, and 2.9 BB/9 in parts of five minor league seasons. He was added to the Rockies’ 40-man roster in November after similar production (4.94 ERA, 7.4 K/9, 3.6 BB/9) on the mound at Albuquerque last season. Moll was designated for assignment last week to make room on the 40-man for Ryan McMahon.
Though he’s struggled for the better part of two years, Moll isn’t all that far removed from a 2015 season that saw him strike out nearly 10 batters per nine innings while posting a 2.63 ERA in 68 1⁄3 frames at High-A and Double-A. Due to those recent struggles, Moll came in at No. 35 in our midseason PuRP rankings, but MLB Pipeline still thinks highly of the University of Memphis product, slotting him at No. 20 on their organizational list.
The Rockies haven’t exactly been successful developing relievers, so it’s possible that scouts still see something that hasn’t quite manifested itself on the field. For Oakland, nabbing a top 20 prospect in a good organization for likely little given up is a win. For the Rockies, it was a necessary move to upgrade the talent on the major league roster as the team prepares for a postseason push.