Reds GM Nick Krall reveals shrewd genius with trade deadline addition of Sam Moll

The Cincinnati Reds made one addition at this year's trade deadline. Just one! But as it turns out, the Reds are reaping the benefits of that lone acquisition while other teams are having buyer's remorse.

The Reds approached the trade deadline with a clear vision; don't sacrifice the future for the now. While there were rumors floating about the Cincinnati was eyeballing several starting pitchers, nothing ever materialized.

In the end, all the Reds were left with a trade deadline deal for some relief pitcher from the Oakland A's. But the addition of Sam Moll reveals, once again, the genius baseball mind of Reds GM Nick Krall.

Reds GM Nick Krall reveals shrewd genius with trade deadline addition of Sam Moll.

It's not as if Reds fans haven't seen this before. Trading Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez last spring was met with harsh criticism. However, it now appears that the Reds may have secured two serviceable starting pitchers in exchange for an injury-prone slugger and player who'll lead the league in strikeouts for a second straight season.

There was also this past offseason when Krall traded what amounted to two former second-round draft picks to the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for Will Benson. A former first-round pick, Benson has turned his career around and would appear to be fixture in the Reds outfield for years to come.

And who could forget Krall flipping Tyler Mahle at last year's deadline for Spencer Steer, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and Steve Hajjar. Both Steer and Encarnacion-Strand have shined during their rookie seasons while Hajjar was part of the aforementioned trade with Cleveland for Benson.

But Nick Krall showed off his shrewd genius once again this summer with the addition of reliever Sam Moll. A reliever for the Oakland Athletics, prior to joining the Cincinnati Reds, Moll owned a 4.54 ERA, but was striking out almost 11 batters per nine innings pitched.

Since joining the Reds at the end of July, Moll has arguably been manager David Bell's best reliever. The left-hander is 1-0 in 16 appearances out of the Cincinnati bullpen. Moll has continued to throws strikes at a consistent clip, but his ERA has been a minuscule 1.13 with a 2.76 FIP and a strikeout-rate of nearly 30-percent.

A lot of Reds fans were critical of the Cincinnati front office after no other additions were made. But if you look at the disastrous results following the trades of players like Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito, and Jack Flaherty, it would appear as though Nick Krall knew exactly what he was doing.