The Return Of The Franchise: Blue Jays Recall Travis Snider, DFA Juan Rivera
It?s about time. After spending a little over 2 months in AAA Las Vegas to correct his swing mechanics, Travis ?the Franchise? Snider has been recalled to the major leagues by the Blue Jays, and the team housecleaning continued with Juan Rivera getting DFA?d following this afternoon?s win over the Phillies.
I wasn?t a fan of the move that sent Snider to the minors in the first place, and it?s difficult to say how this stint has improved Snider?s game ? he?s always mashed at AAA, and it really wasn?t too different this time, as the outfielder hit .327/.398 in 48 games, with 2 home runs and 27 RBIs in that span. Despite the lack of home run power shown during Snider?s time with Las Vegas, the one stat that immediately jumps out is his doubles rate, which stands at 31.3%, well over his career average (25.6%). While his walk rate didn?t exactly improve, Snider did record a career-low strikeout rate of 16.4, meaning he?s getting more contact with the ball, and hitting more hard-hit line drives.
All of this is good and well, but the fact remains that Snider was working out of these issues when he was sent down, and his previous small-sample experiences suggested that he would have eventually found his way through his struggles at the major leagues. The demotion didn?t seem right in the first place, and it seems to me that we?ve lost 2 months of major league development time for Snider, just so the team could ride the hot hand with Corey Patterson. Especially after the team said that they would commit to Snider, I don?t see how this could have done any good for the future of the franchise.
Okay, so I?m a big fan of Snider to begin with, but what happens if he struggles again in the majors? Do you send him down again after a month? The problem for the kid was that he never got consistent playing time in the big leagues, like Adam Lind before his breakout ?09 season. I hope that the team will actually keep him here to stay, now that he?s spent time in the minors for the 3 time in the last 3 years.
The loser in today?s good news is Juan Rivera, who received a vacation out of town on his 33rd birthday. The timing is certainly a little?unfortunate, but the move was coming from a mile away. Since coming as part of the Vernon Wells trade, Rivera has hit just .243/.305 for the Blue Jays, with 6 home runs and 28 RBIs. More importantly, he couldn?t realistically play defense in any position besides 1B, and provided no real depth on the bench with Edwin Encarnacion serving as DH. It was hoped that Rivera would hit his way into becoming a trade piece for the Blue Jays, but it just didn?t happen. There is certainly a place for the veteran in the bigs as a pinch-hitter against lefties off the bench, though it won?t be here with the Blue Jays.
--bluejaysrant
It?s about time. After spending a little over 2 months in AAA Las Vegas to correct his swing mechanics, Travis ?the Franchise? Snider has been recalled to the major leagues by the Blue Jays, and the team housecleaning continued with Juan Rivera getting DFA?d following this afternoon?s win over the Phillies.
I wasn?t a fan of the move that sent Snider to the minors in the first place, and it?s difficult to say how this stint has improved Snider?s game ? he?s always mashed at AAA, and it really wasn?t too different this time, as the outfielder hit .327/.398 in 48 games, with 2 home runs and 27 RBIs in that span. Despite the lack of home run power shown during Snider?s time with Las Vegas, the one stat that immediately jumps out is his doubles rate, which stands at 31.3%, well over his career average (25.6%). While his walk rate didn?t exactly improve, Snider did record a career-low strikeout rate of 16.4, meaning he?s getting more contact with the ball, and hitting more hard-hit line drives.
All of this is good and well, but the fact remains that Snider was working out of these issues when he was sent down, and his previous small-sample experiences suggested that he would have eventually found his way through his struggles at the major leagues. The demotion didn?t seem right in the first place, and it seems to me that we?ve lost 2 months of major league development time for Snider, just so the team could ride the hot hand with Corey Patterson. Especially after the team said that they would commit to Snider, I don?t see how this could have done any good for the future of the franchise.
Okay, so I?m a big fan of Snider to begin with, but what happens if he struggles again in the majors? Do you send him down again after a month? The problem for the kid was that he never got consistent playing time in the big leagues, like Adam Lind before his breakout ?09 season. I hope that the team will actually keep him here to stay, now that he?s spent time in the minors for the 3 time in the last 3 years.
The loser in today?s good news is Juan Rivera, who received a vacation out of town on his 33rd birthday. The timing is certainly a little?unfortunate, but the move was coming from a mile away. Since coming as part of the Vernon Wells trade, Rivera has hit just .243/.305 for the Blue Jays, with 6 home runs and 28 RBIs. More importantly, he couldn?t realistically play defense in any position besides 1B, and provided no real depth on the bench with Edwin Encarnacion serving as DH. It was hoped that Rivera would hit his way into becoming a trade piece for the Blue Jays, but it just didn?t happen. There is certainly a place for the veteran in the bigs as a pinch-hitter against lefties off the bench, though it won?t be here with the Blue Jays.
--bluejaysrant
