A’s option Sam Moll to Triple-A

The Oakland A’s made a trade on Monday, acquiring relief pitcher Andrew Chafin from the Chicago Cubs. The new addition meant someone else would need to go, and that corresponding roster move came Tuesday afternoon.

The A’s announced that they optioned fellow left-handed reliever Sam Moll to Triple-A Las Vegas.

Oakland acquired Moll at the beginning of July and called him up the next day, and since then he made three appearances out of the bullpen in low-leverage situations. When he took the mound he got the job done, retiring eight of his 12 batters and avoiding any runs (also stranded his only inherited runner).

• Moll, 2021: 2⅔ ip, 0 runs, 2 Ks, 3 BB, 1 hit, .310 xwOBA

That was Moll’s first MLB action since 2017, when he also pitched a few games for the A’s. In fact, he’s never played in the majors for any other team, though he’s bounced around several organizations in the minors. He now returns to Triple-A, where he can stay on-hand as bullpen depth if needed down the road.

Meanwhile, taking his place in Oakland is Chafin, an experienced lefty setup man with several years of great success in the late innings. He’s a perfect fit for this bullpen.

Here’s the updated roster, with the injury report below.

Injury report:

• RHP Trevor Rosenthal, OUT FOR YEAR, entire body (thoracic outlet, hip labrum)
• RHP Mike Fiers, 60-day IL, elbow (no structural damage; shut down for July)
• UT Chad Pinder, 10-day IL, hamstring (likely out thru mid-Aug at least)