There was actually some transaction news yesterday! The Rays claimed 26-year-old outfielder Chris Snelling off of waivers from the Oakland A’s and released Jay Witasick. (devilrays.com)
Snelling was a pretty big prospect in the Mariners’ system a few years ago, but injuries have severely curtailed his career. When healthy he has a great eye, decent pop, and he won’t kill you with his glove. He could be a fine fourth outfielder, and makes Jonny Gomes and/or Elijah Dukes and/or Justin Ruggiano even more expendable. The designated hitter role wouldn’t be out of the question, nor would - in my opinion - giving him a first baseman’s mitt and letting him tool around over there in case something disastrous happens with Carlos Pena. He’s also highly-controllable, as he’s arbitration-eligble through 2009 according to Rotoworld. He likely won’t earn a heck of a lot through there. Rotoworld also had this to say about the move:
It looks like Oakland hoped to have him clear waivers and then stick around as a minor league free agent. The Rays, though, opted to take a chance on the oft-injured 26-year-old. Snelling may never be able to contribute as an outfielder because of his inability to stay healthy, and he doesn’t have the power one wants to see from a designated hitter. There’s still a chance that he’ll put it all together and turn in a quality season as a regular at some point, but he certainly can’t be counted on.
Here’s Sportsnet.ca’s scouting report on him:
Assets
A strong pure hitter who lines the ball hard into the gaps with occasional power. Has great baseball instincts.Flaws
Has been very injury-prone, and that’s an understatement. Leg injuries have robbed him of any speed he once had.Career potential
Can be a steady .300 hitter.
Here’s an interesting note about him: he gets hit by a TON of pitches. Check out his stats from The Baseball Cube to see what I mean.
October 26th, 2007 at 8:59 am
I like thie transaction- Snelling was a pretty good prospect for a while, and I like taking a chance on him… It’s not like Witasick was coming back…
With that said, there is NO good reason to earn a 40-man roster spot over Jason Pridie. I will go bananas if Pridie is rule-5 outta here. Snells should be in Durham until he proves he is too good to be there, and healthy enough to contribute. Maybe him and Baldelli can work out together (or at least hang out in the training room)
This def makes it look like Gomes, Ruggiano, and Dukes could be traded on out…
October 26th, 2007 at 9:35 am
Did anybody plan on seeing the likes of Gomes, Ruggiano or Dukes in a Rays uniform for a long time anyways? Everyone basically says the same thing about Snelling that they say about Rocco. When they’re healthy, they can really contribute on a pretty high level. So maybe if both Rocco and Snelling stay healthy, we end up with by far the deepest outfield in the history of the game. But I think this move just gives the Rays a little more depth in the organization. I don’t want to see Pridie outted any more than anyone else, but I think this move might make that happen. Essentially, Snelling and Pridie are the same player. Pridie might have a little more speed, so I give him an edge. They might just see something in Pridie that they don’t like. We’ll see what happens though. Maybe we wise up and let Stokes go off the 40-man, and we bring up Pridie. You never know with our organization though. We did protect a pitcher who was demoted to Montgomery to let Josh Hamilton go to the Rule 5 Draft. That worked out well for us, huh?
October 26th, 2007 at 11:34 am
I just had an epiphany for our team for the next couple of seasons. If Upton ends up repeating his outstanding offensive performance, he will obviously be the CF for a long time. This means no real room for Rocco. That is unless he shows that he’s 100% healthy and might be able to fill the RF outfield spot. The only reason I bring this up is that we have to make a decision on Rocco after the 2008 year on whether we pick up his options. About a week ago, I discussed the idea of trading Young. If Rocco shows he can play a full season, and puts up his old .290 AVG, 20+ HR power, and ability to drive in runs, do you pick up his option years, and try to trade Delmon for pitching? I think the answer is difficult, but I would trade Delmon in this case. Delmon, if he has another year of showing improvement, has the biggest upside and would probably bring in more in a trade. Rocco has the arm to play RF, and if you remember right, Sweet Lou thought Rocco may end up making the move to RF at some point in his career. Moving to RF might take some of the wear and tear off of Rocco’s legs to let him play 140+ games in the outfield. I’m not trying to start WW III here, so don’t go jumping all over me for this. It’s just a sudden idea I had. If the Rays don’t feel they can get the right deal or FA signing done this offseason, they might be waiting to see what Rocco does this year to see if they want to keep him, or trade him. I think Rocco is a guy who brings in a lot of PR, and that helps him with the organizations case of keeping him. Young has the little punk kid still in him, and if you were to compare him to his brother, you might think he may never grow out of that mold. I could definitely see the Rays keeping Rocco instead of Young. Rocco does a lot in the community, and signed a very, very cheap deal to stay here for a long time. I don’t see Delmon signing a deal like that. He’s the type of guy who will try to hold the Rays up for ransom. Just an idea I thought I’d toss out there to get some people’s attention. Don’t hurt me too bad!
October 26th, 2007 at 11:58 am
let’s worry about Rocco not hurting himself walking to the batter’s box and we’ll talk =)
also, let Young develop some…
October 26th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
I am pretty sure that Snelling replaces Witasick on the 40 man roster. And I cannot find Pridie on the 40 man yet; he may not have to placed there for a another few years.
In any case, there is plenty of flexibility about that. The Rays have quite a few players they can remove before getting to significant talent, including Stokes, Camp, Norton, Switzer, Casanove, Velandia, Wilson and more. Even when they have to decide about Baldelli, Zobrist and Riggans who are on the 60 day DL and so not counted on the 40 man roster, there are plenty of options.
October 26th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Pridie is not on the 40-man, which is my point, I think he has earned it. Plus if we don’t secure one for him soon, he will go in the rule-5 draft, and I’ll lose my mind-
October 26th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
At DRays Bay there is a post about the 40 man that clarifies the situation. Apparently he will have to be added, but I doubt Snelling will be kept in his place. There are plenty of other players who are far more likely to be released.
October 29th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
Rays picked up Kurt Birkins from Baltimore, WHHHHHYYYYYYYYYY?
He has never been good, not even in the minors? I mean they only gave up Cassanova on the 40-man, but these were spots I wanted others to get… I am thoroughly dissapointed
October 30th, 2007 at 6:50 am
There are plenty of spots left for other players. Birkins actually has shown some promise in the minors with pretty good BB/9, K/9 and HR/9 ratios. He was used almost exclusively as a starter, but I am guessing will be another candidate for the bullpen, and as a lefty with some control and some strikeout ability there is no reason not to add him to the mix.