The Baltimore Orioles traded for outfielder Travis Snider on Tuesday. This was to try to ease the losses of Nick Markakis and Nelson Cruz in free agency. Markakis signed with the Braves for $44 million over four years. Nelson Cruz signed for $57 million over four years with the Seattle Mariners. This left a huge hole in Baltimore’s outfield that needed to be filled. They filled one via trade.
Of course, the Pirates won’t actually get Crash Davis. That is just the gratuitous Bull Durham reference.
The 26 year old Snider was a top prospect in the Blue Jays organization after they drafted him with the 14th pick of the 2006 draft. Snider made his major league debut in September of 2008. He was never able to either shake a platoon or keep from being demoted in his time with the Jays. He played 242 games with them over five years, compiling a .248 average and 31 home runs over 918 at bats. The Blue Jays traded him to Pittsburgh for reliever Brad Lincoln at the 2012 trade deadline.
Snider did not realize his potential in Pittsburgh either despite earning mostly regular playing time. He his .243 in 301 games with the Pirates.
Now he is on to his third team, but is still only 26 years old (he turns 27 on Monday). This is the stage of a player’s career when they usually reach their prime, but Snider is just a career .246 hitter with 50 home runs in 1,546 at bats. That still comes out to a home run every 31 at-bats, which is not a horrible ratio.
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Also, he is moving to one of the most hitter friendly parks of his career, at least for left handers. He will also join a lineup that has former all stars Matt Wieters, Chris Davis, and Adam Jones in it. The Orioles opening day roster would look something like this as of now:
LF Alejandro De Aza
CF Adam Jones
RF Travis Snider
1B Chris Davis (has one game remaining on 25 game suspension)
2B Jonathan Schoop
SS J.J. Hardy
3B Manny Machado
DH Delmon Young
C Matt Wieters (Caleb Joseph will start until Wieters recovers from Tommy John Surgery)
There is much more talent around Snider, which should help his RBI numbers. His career high in a season is 38, which was set last year in 322 at-bats. I am guessing that he will bat in the bottom third of the order, but with the middle of the lineup boasting Davis, Jones, and Machado, he should get many more RBI opportunities.
I would expect Snider’s production to increase this year. He has been in the Major Leagues for the better part of six years now, so it’s easy to forget that he is still pretty young. He hit .264 last year with the Pirates, but still struggles against left handed pitching. Unless he changes that, he will likely wind up in a platoon with Steven Pearce in right. I could see him putting up an average of around .270 with 20 home runs and 60 RBI. Those are numbers that can help you in nearly all deep leagues.
The impending platoon situation will keep Snider off of all standard league rosters. For those of you that play in leagues of 16 teams or more or in leagues that start more than five outfielders, he may be someone to keep an eye on. He is moving into the best situation of his career at a time when most players enjoy the best years in their careers. Will that happen to Snider? There are way too many intangibles in play to say definitively whether that will happen or not, but he was the 14th pick in the draft. He obviously had some upside at one point.
For the Pirates, this was an easy decision. They are full in the outfield anyway. Their starting outfield could be one of the best in the majors with Gregory Polanco, Andrew McCutchen, and Starling Marte. They made a wise decision in moving Snider, who would have been a little used outfielder, for a prospect. They also cleared roster space for slugger Andrew Lambo.
Tarpley was a third round pick of the Orioles in the 2013 draft. He was 3-5 with a 3.68 ERA for Class A Aberdeen last year. The 21 year old is still a work in progress, and likely won’t make it to the majors for at least three years, if at all. Tarpley is not fantasy relevant at this time. Even for those of you in dynasty leagues. This move won’t affect his value much right now except for the fact that he should have an easier time moving through the Pirates farm system than the Orioles, who are loaded with pitchers.