The Reds announced that they have released veteran left-hander Paul Maholm (Twitter link). Cincinnati told Maholm a week ago that he wouldn’t earn a spot in the team’s rotation, but at the time, Maholm was still uncertain about exercising the out clause in his contract.

Maholm, 32, spent last season with the Dodgers, working to a 4.84 ERA with 4.3 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 70 2/3 innings between their rotation and the bullpen. Though he’s struggled over the past two seasons, Maholm was a more than serviceable rotation arm for the Pirates, Cubs and Braves from 2011-12, recording 351 1/3 innings of 3.66 ERA ball in that time. He also pitched well this spring, yielding only three runs in 12 1/3 innings, although his 5-to-3 K/BB ratio in that time leaves something to be desired.

The Reds’ rotation figures to include Johnny Cueto, Homer Bailey, Mike Leake, Anthony DeSclafani and a yet-undetermined fifth starter, with Raisel Iglesias and Jason Marquis possibly still in the mix. Cincinnati made the surprising decision to shift Tony Cingrani to the bullpen earlier this spring.