John Perrotto tweets that the Pirates have released outfielder Chris Snelling to make room on the Triple-A Indianapolis roster for the recently acquired Lastings Milledge. Snelling owns a career .302-.392-.456 batting line in the minors, but has struggled to stay healthy and managed just a .244-.360-.400 line in close to 300 big league plate appearances.
Chris Snelling
Pirates Acquire Chris Snelling
According to beat reporter Jen Langosch at MLBlogs, the Pirates have acquired outfielder Chris Snelling from the Padres for future considerations. He'll be assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis.
Snelling, 27, had signed a minor-league deal with the Pads in March. He's put up a .760 OPS in 93 games on various teams dating back to 2002.
Padres Ink Chris Snelling
According to MLB.com’s Corey Brock, the Padres have agreed to terms with outfielder Chris Snelling on a minor league contract.
Snelling will take a physical then head to Padres camp in Arizona. The 27-year-old Australian has been plagued by injuries for much of his career. He managed just four at-bats with the Phillies last season, but hit .385 with two homers for Team Australia in the first round of the World Baseball Classic.
Odds And Ends: Flurry of DFAs And GM Contract Talks
Tying lose ends on a very slow Saturday indeed.
- In a series of moves, the Jay’s have activated Vernon Wells with less than a month after he broke his wrist in Cleveland and DFA’d Armando Benitez. I guess they’re not going after Bonds.
- Steinbrenner: "There are no plans to sit down and talk with general manager Brian Cashman about his contract status." The G.M.’s contract expires after the 2008 season.
- By activating Jayson Werth from the DL, the Phillies were forced to DFA Chris Snelling, but the young outfielder is out of options. He has three days to accept the assignment or become a free agent.
- In order to make room for the newly-acquired Berroa, the Dodgers DFA’d Terry Tiffee. Dodgers beat writer Tony Jackson thinks he could be more expendable this way if he gets claimed off waivers.
- Bengie Molina is upset by comments made by Giant’s G.M. Brian Sabean after this week’s draft. Sabean said Buster Posey "is on the fast track and Bengie’s clock is winding down."
Alejandro "the intern" Leal writes for UmpBump.com. You can reach him here.
Odds and Ends: Fukudome, Eckstein, Lowell
Ah yes, the odds and ends post, where I cobble together the day’s random links.
- The Rangers have mild interest Scott Podsednik. Pods had two separate stints in the Rangers organization but never reached the bigs with them.
- The Big Lead has an interesting interview with Yahoo baseball guy Jeff Passan, wherein a run-in with Jose Lima is recounted. Passan also takes on Fire Joe Morgan a bit.
- Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog is hearing that Kosuke Fukudome is looking for three years and $30MM. Sounds fair.
- The Angels are considering signing David Eckstein and/or Darin Erstad, for some reason.
- Bob Dutton reports that the Royals can be patient with their offer to Torii Hunter, while the White Sox want a quick resolution. Bonus: a rather large, but not too pixellated picture of Hunter at the Dutton link. Hunter, by the way, could save $750K per year if he signs with the Rangers because Texas has no state income tax. Hunter is also considering the Las Vegas 51s for that same reason, I heard.
- Per Buster Olney, the Dodgers put in a three-year offer to Mike Lowell. He takes this as a sign they weren’t serious, but Ned Colletti has shown a tendency to offer fewer years and more per year. He did this with Rafael Furcal and Jason Schmidt. So maybe the Dodgers put out a 3/45 offer or something.
- The Phils picked up oft-injured outfielder Chris Snelling from the Rays for cash. He’s yet to accumulate 100 big league at-bats in a season, but maybe that’ll change in 2008.
- Ed Wade + relievers = trouble. Doug Brocail is on the radar.
- McCovey Chronicles lists some realistic position player targets for the Giants, including Jeff Clement, Andy Marte, and Adam Lind.
Giles Released, Snelling Claimed
Some odds and ends to catch us up in the minor-moves department:
- ESPN reports Marcus Giles was released by the Padres after an abysmal .229/.304/.317 in 420 at-bats. They declined his $4MM club option and bought out his contract for $500,000. He joins the 2B free agent market on the lower end of the talent spectrum.
- The Mercury News notes Oakland OF Chris Snelling was claimed off waivers by Tampa Bay.
Posted by Nat Boyle
A’s Acquire Snelling For Langerhans
According to Baseball Digest Daily, the A’s have acquired Chris Snelling from the Nationals for the just-received Ryan Langerhans. I hope neither guy bought a condo.
Pretty interesting swap between Billy Beane and Jim Bowden. Snelling, aka Doyle (his middle name) in U.S.S. Mariner world, was a cult favorite for many Mariners fans. His inclusion in the Jose Vidro deal this winter was met with great disdain. Oddly, Langerhans shows up as his fifth most comparable player according to Baseball Prospectus.
Langerhans is a little older, and has done a better job staying healthy. Both players can handle multiple outfield positions (well, not at once) and know how to draw a walk. They’ve got eerily similar PECOTA projections, so maybe it was just a matter of each GM preferring to bet on the other guy’s outfielder. I think the best case scenario is that one of these guys develops into Jeromy Burnitz.
Check out Chris Needham’s take on the trade over at Capitol Punishment.
Rockies Interested In Chad Cordero
Surprisingly, Ken Rosenthal is indicating that the Rockies are interested in Nationals closer Chad Cordero. I didn’t realize the Rockies were that serious about bullpen help, but it makes sense. However, Cordero doesn’t seem like the right target as he is a flyball pitcher.
It may be a moot point in that discussions haven’t occurred for weeks between the two clubs. It seems that Jim Bowden is looking for two of the Rockies’ five best prospects, and they have some excellent ones. Of course, Trader Jim is in the catbird seat. Other highlights of Rosenthal’s article:
- The Rangers want a decent right-handed hitting fourth outfielder like Chris Denorfia or Jason Ellison. Ellison seems more likely to be dealt as he’s out of options. Ellison’s not young, but hitting .400 for a third of a season at Triple A should draw some attention.
- In addition to the Cubs, Marlins, and Rangers, the Twins like Clint Barmes. Despite an awful ’06, Barmes definitely has his uses. PECOTA calls for a fairly solid .277/.321/.421 line.
- Perhaps in an attempt to lead the league in DL days, the A’s inquired on Chris Snelling. Again, Bowden asked for too much in return.
Mariners Acquire Jose Vidro
The Mariners have traded Chris Snelling and Emiliano Fruto to the Nationals for second baseman Jose Vidro, according to the Washington Post. The Mariners intend to pay $12MM of the $16MM remaining on Vidro’s contract for 2007-08. Jim Bowden did well.
Vidro, 32, hopefully will not supplant young Jose Lopez as the starting second baseman. In getting into 126 games last year, Vidro had his healthiest season in a while. However, his power seems to have evaporated and he’s not exactly nimble in the field. Sure, he’s cheap, but he’s not particularly good. He’s little help at 2B or DH.
Snelling is another oft-injured player, though he is only 25. Many of his injuries have been the result of bad fortune, but he’s been through a lot. He’s still a good gamble for a team like the Nats.
Fruto is just 22 and is a high-upside arm with three plus pitches, according to Baseball America. He hasn’t started since ’03 but maybe the Nats will want to reinvent him.
