SF Giants: MiLB Reliever Signs with Diamondbacks

On Monday, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reported that the Arizona Diamondbacks announced a series of minor league deals. Included in that group was former SF Giants farmhand Sam Moll.

The left-handed hurler was selected by the SF Giants in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 draft in 2018 and spent the next two years with the organization before joining the division-rival Diamondbacks. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Moll, who was selected in the third round of the 2013 draft by the Colorado Rockies out of the University of Memphis, made his way to the Giants after a trip through the waiver circuit.

Interestingly, he debuted with the Oakland Athletics in 2017 where he yielded eight earned runs across 6.2 frames, so he was the rare Rule 5 pick with prior major-league experience. However, his time with the A’s was short-lived as he was placed on waivers and made brief stops with the Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Toronto Blue Jays. the Blue Jays did not protect the southpaw in 2018, so the Giants plucked him away.

Across seven minor league seasons, the 29-year-old has posted a 3.31 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 8.7 K/9, and a 2.85 SO/W ratio in 282.2 innings. He has struggled with command at times as he has generated an eight percent walk rate.

Upon joining the Giants organization, Moll became a key bullpen arm across two minor league levels, including Double-A and Triple-A in 2019. In total, he registered a 2.39 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 9.9 K/9, and a 2.35 SO/W ratio across 49 innings.

He finished that season with a Sacramento Rivercats team that won the Pacific Coast League championship. Moll returned to the Giants in 2020 on a minor league pact but he did not work out at the alternate training site in Sacramento.

The veteran minor leaguer pairs a low-90’s fastball with a slider and changeup. However, he struggles against right-handed hitters, so his major league ceiling is as a situational lefty, which is an increasingly difficult role to crack with the new three-batter minimum rule.

With the minor league season set to return in 2021, Moll has a chance to make a push for a major league promotion given his experience and success at the upper minor-league levels. Hopefully, his time in the Giants organization gave him the growth and development that he needs to stick.