Well, this is certainly strange.
The majority of July trades involve rebuilding teams sending veterans to contenders for prospects. But neither the Arizona Diamondbacks nor the Pittsburgh Pirates are anywhere near contention, and yet they made a rather extensive deal today.
In the five-player trade, Pittsburgh sent reliever D.J. Carrasco, outfielder Ryan Church, and infielder Bobby Crosby to Arizona for catcher Chris Snyder, minor league infielder Pedro Ciriaco, and cash.
Well, that’s sure a lot to swallow, and it’s tough to tell at first glance how this all adds up. I’ll break it all down after the jump.
The Obvious
It makes little sense as to why the Diamondbacks would want any of the three players they’re getting. Crosby is a well-below-replacement level infielder, having two straight seasons with negative WAR. Ryan Church has a .182/.240/.312 batting line, and a negative WAR as well.
D.J. Carrasco has been barely above replacement level himself. The three have combined for a whopping -1.1 WAR this year, and all three are in their thirties. Odd acquisitions for Arizona, to say the least.
Of the three players, Carrasco makes the most sense for the Snakes: he’s under team control for 2 1/2 years, and they need all the bullpen help they can get.
Crosby and Church actively hurt the team if they’re on the roster, though. Not only do they contribute nothing toward winning, they also block Triple-A guys like Ryan Roberts (in Crosby’s case), Doug Deeds, and Jeff Bailey (in Church’s case) from getting looks.
Chris Snyder has been worth +1.1 WAR all by himself this year, so in terms of the major league talent in this deal, the Pirates just got a 3 WAR/year upgrade while freeing two roster slots and acquiring an extra prospect.
Given Ryan Doumit‘s injury and defensive issues and Jason Jaramillo‘s hitting struggles, getting another catcher for 1 1/2 years (he also has an iffy $6.75 million option for 2012) is nice, if somewhat unncessary for the freakin’ Pirates, of all teams.
Clearing out three rather needless veterans and getting him, though? That’s nice, right off the bat.
The Not-So-Obvious
Pedro Ciriaco, the prospect in the deal, is a 24-year-old defensive specialist in Triple-A. He’s hit .259 and has some gap power, but like many of the prospects we’ve seen moved this July, he has a poor plate approach, with a 59/10 K/BB. The extremely low walk rate pushes his OBP to a very poor .278, and he’s never posted a mark better than .320 outside of the hitter-friendly Cal League.
There’s hope that Ciriaco can become a defense-oriented utility player who can pop some singles and doubles occasionally, but he’s unlikely to be a good utilty player unless he stops swinging and missing or starts walking.
I just don’t understand this deal from Arizona’s perspective. Why would they be this desperate to unload Snyder? Sure, they get someone of a bit of use in Carrasco in return, but had to also send cash, a C-grade prospect, and take on around $1 million owed to Crosby and Church for the rest of this year, plus (likely) giving both of the sub-replacement level performers 25-man roster spots at the expense of better, cheaper, younger players.
Now, none of those benefits are team-killing, mind you–blocking Ryan Roberts and Doug Deeds for a month (they could theoretically be called up in September) isn’t going to kill the franchise’s future, the money they sent out just matches the money they’re taking in, and Pedro Ciriaco is far from a difference-maker–but what’s the benefit to this deal? Getting an okay 32-year-old reliever for 2 1/2 years? That seems like a pretty paltry return for a solid 29-year-old catcher, a C prospect, and cash, when combined with the side annoyances of the money and playing time to Crosby and Church.
Conclusions
Pittsburgh upgrades the major league team in this deal by the addition of Snyder and the addition by subtraction of Crosby and Church. Getting a prospect of even marginal interest is nice as well.
Arizona’s end of the deal is ultimately harmless, but it makes very little sense why they’d trade for any of the three players they picked up. The commodities they just parted with are much more valuable than the ones they received in return. Still, none of the five players in the deal on either side were going to do much to help Arizona in the future, and the salaries match up, so there’s nothing really wrong with it; it’s just decidedly an odd move.