Pittsburgh Pirates Make Mistake By Trading Away Travis Snider

After a long pause to their offseason, the Pittsburgh Pirates made another move on Tuesday night, trading away outfielder Travis Snider. It had been rumored early in the offseason that Snider was a target to be traded, but no one believed it would happen. Actually making the move to trade Snider will prove to be a mistake for the Pirates.

The top reason why it is a mistake is that the Pirates did not get much back in return. Snider was playing at the top of his game and was finally starting to live up to some of his potential. This made his trade value the highest it has ever been and possibly the highest it will ever be. Snider hit .264/.338/.438 with 13 home runs and 37 RBIs. Many of these stats are career highs, and Snider may continue to hit that well with more playing time, heightening his value even more. But the Pirates only got a low potential minor league pitcher and a player to be named later in return from the Baltimore Orioles. This is not something that Snider should command. He is worth at least a solid, major league relief pitcher or a higher potential prospect. And getting anything less than that is already a loss for the Pirates.

Another reason this trade is a big mistake for the Pirates is that they have no one who can replace him as the fourth outfielder on the major league roster. Jose Tabata has shown he can play in the majors, but he does not have Snider’s power and could be seen as a bad influence. Andrew Lambo could be another option to consider, but he is an unproven bat in the the majors and is nowhere near the defensive level of Snider. The Pirates need a quality fourth outfielder that they can rely on, with Gregory Polanco still young and inexperienced, and without Snider, they don’t have it.

Even though trading Snider was likely a good idea this offseason, the Pirates didn’t get enough in return and they don’t have a logical replacement. That is why this move will end up being a big mistake for the Pirates in the 2015 season.

Justin Broyles is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @Tweets_ByJ, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.