Braves Outright Anthony Molina

The Braves announced that right-hander Anthony Molina has been sent outright to Triple-A Gwinnett. It seems they quietly put him on waivers in recent days as there was no public indication he had been designated for assignment. The move drops their 40-man count to 39.

Molina, 24 in January, has never pitched for Atlanta. He was just claimed off waivers from the Rockies a couple of weeks ago. The Rockies had selected him from the Rays in the 2023 Rule 5 draft. He didn’t pitch especially well but the Rockies were rebuilding and kept him on the roster through that whole season regardless. He finished 2024 with 59 2/3 innings thrown mostly out of the bullpen, although technically one outing was a start as an opener. He allowed 6.79 earned runs per nine with a 15.5% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 41.9% ground ball rate.

By keeping him for the full year, the Rockies obtained his full rights and were no longer bound by the Rule 5 restrictions. He split 2025 between the major league bullpen and the Triple-A rotation. He tossed 69 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 6.59 ERA, 15% strikeout rate, 8.8% walk rate and 46.2% ground ball rate. His 34 2/3 big league innings resulted in a 7.27 ERA, 15% strikeout rate, 3% walk rate and 40.8% grounder rate.

Those aren’t the most exciting numbers but it surely doesn’t help that he was in very hitter-friendly environments. The Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes play in the Pacific Coast League, famously tough for pitchers, while Coors Field is also notorious for its hostility to hurlers.

Molina averages around 95 miles per hour with his fastball and also features a cutter, slider, curveball and changeup. Atlanta will try to get more out of that arsenal in a friendlier setting. Since this is Molina’s first career outright and he has less than three years of service time, he doesn’t have the right to elect free agency.