Pirates Lift Chris Snyder
Nobody expected the Pittsburgh Pirates to be buyers at the deadline, but here we are. Today the Pirates finalized a deal to acquire Chris Snyder (and minor league shortstop Pedro Ciriaco) from Arizona for Ryan Church, Bobby Crosby, and D.J. Carrasco.
The Pirates already have Ryan Doumit under contract through next season (with two club option years thereafter) which makes Snyder an interesting acquisition on the major league level alone. Throw in Tony Sanchez in High-A and the Pirates have the makings of a catcher surplus. Why take on Snyder, though, when the team isn’t competing now nor later? Because look at the cost it took to acquire him.
Crosby and Church are both over 30 years of age and have a combined wOBA of .511. Carrasco is the best player going the other way and he’s a middle reliever. In return, the Pirates get a catcher who hits around league average. That’s an asset. The word right now is that Pittsburgh will not move Snyder, and Doumit will play some first base and right field while splitting catcher duties. That doesn’t mean a deal will not happen at some point before the 2011 season begins, and if one does happen the Pirates (presumably) will not have the same sense of urgency to dump without bringing back costs as the Diamondbacks currently do which (should) suggest a better return closer to Snyder’s market value.
You can take some tinfoil and tape it to a cardboard box but that doesn’t raise the value. That is essentially what the Pirates did, and then they dealt that cardboard box for a television. I know nothing about Ciracio but I don’t think he’s a negative value unless he somehow leads to the destruction of the entire Pirates’ minor league system.
The aftermath of this deal won’t be felt for a while. The initial impact, though, makes it hard to blame Pittsburgh for taking advantage of a sweet opportunity.
I think you mean .251 wOBA (or something similar), not .511.
What interest do the DBacks have in Church in Crosby? They must be really desperate for bullpen help.
.511 for both of them put together. Church .248, Croz .263.
Seems like a good deal for the Pirates, they unloaded some crap (Church and Crosby) and a decent reliever for a guy that is capable of starting. Doumit was so terrible defensively it was hard to watch him behind the plate on a nightly basis.
I believe the Pirates broadcasters mentioned his nickname used to be (is?) Ryan No-Mitt.
Too bad Jeff Clement never panned out.
that’s still his nickname and will forever be his nickname
Chris Snyder is a good guy and popular player. He’s got a little “Chrash Davis” in him. When Zavada was called up and showed up in blue jeans and a polo shirt, Snyder took him out and had him fitted for some dress clothes, paid for them, and sat him down and went over the ML daily routine.
No, I’m not suggesting that this counts in WAR, or should … Only stating that an upgrade at the position and a good mentor in the clubhouse on a young team has some value.
They traded away stuff they didn’t want, for something they can use. Good move.
I don’t understand what the DBacks are doing. They keep trading away guys for little in return.
Most of the saberists and saber-groupies I know believe wholeheartedly in the unquantifiable values of players.
Also, Neal Huntington is becoming one of my favorite GM’s. As a Royals fan, I have no difficulty living vicariously through the peasant Pirates.
If you guys really can’t comprehend that this is a salary dump, why do you have jobs? Crosby and Church are gone after the year, and Carrasco can be too if he doesn’t pitch well.
Because you don’t salary dump a cheap good young player. He was worth more than his salary. The D-Backs could’ve gotten something for him AND gotten out from under the salary, but they only got out from under the salary. There are 28 teams right now that are wondering why they didn’t get Snyder if he was so cheap.
Yeah, really I was just sharing a story that I thought was pretty cool. Most ML vets look right past rookies, especially a shirt-inning relief guy. Chris Snyder was very well liked by the AZ staff. Of course most if those guys (Haren, Garland, Davis, etc) are gone.
The Pirates are making some decent under the radar moves. They’re just so far away due to lack of quality SPs.
Very cool story. It sounds like Snyder could have a positive effect on the Bucs young SP’s, such as they are.
You’re right about the rotation, obviously. Huntington’s going to have to be both lucky and good in the coming drafts in order to add something to the back of the rotation arms currently eating innings in Pittsburgh.
This years draft was key for the Bucs. We could get a legit no. 2 and have choices at the back end. In the end though, unless they really luck out on a draft, I believe their first big leap into the free agent pool is going to have to be on a quality ace. It might be time to consolidate some of these past their prospect status guys into something tangible.
Either that or they’re going to have to find some “not obvious prospects” in the mold of Garrett Jones, Ryan Ludwick, Randy Wells, etc … Whose teams have classified them as “career minor leager” but haven’t been given a real shot at ML.
Fortunately for PIT they are in a position to play some guys that wouldn’t get adequate playing time for other teams, so there’s a chance at finding some DeJesus’s, Polanco’s, etc and have them be good values at a low cost. Looking at the really good teams minor leagues for some 26-28 year old types that could be had for cheap might not be a bad idea.
Snyder will have an immediate impact as teams won’t run all over the Pirates anymore. In fact, he just threw out Brandon B-Real Phillips in the first inning of today’s game vs. the Reds. Doumit can’t field any position well. This was a good move by the Pirates.