Travis Snider was once one of the top prospects in baseball, making his major-league debut at the age of 20 with the Toronto Blue Jays. He spent a lot of the past seven years struggling to make good on spectacular minor-league numbers.
But Snider, a Jackson High School alum whom the Orioles acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday in exchange for minor-league left-hander Stephen Tarpley and a player to be named later, said those growing pains made him a better player who is now ready to use what he’s learned in his new opportunity with the Orioles.
“It’s definitely an exciting time for my career and, most importantly, getting the chance to play for a manager like Buck Showalter and play for an organization that is defending the AL East title and someplace where winning is expected,” Snider told The Baltimore Sun on Wednesday. “That’s something that coming from Pittsburgh the last couple years will be nice, kind of picking up where I left off, so to speak, on a team full of competitors.”
The Orioles had been looking for a left-handed outfield bat since they lost Nick Markakis and Nelson Cruz early in the offseason. Executive vice president Dan Duquette believes Snider, who will turn 27 on Monday, fills that role nicely. Snider is looking forward to earning his keep in Baltimore.
“Having experienced parts of seven years at the major league level and playing in both leagues has taught me a lot about competition for playing time and what goes into all of that,” Snider said. “For me, having experienced different roles in my career, being an everyday guy for short periods of time and not getting a full season of at bats, it’s exciting to know that that could potentially be something that takes place here in Baltimore, but the focus remains on each day and what I need to do to get better today and prepare myself for spring training and going in there with the right mind-set ready to work and earn what is given.”
Snider, a first-round draft pick of the Blue Jays in 2006 who was once ranked the sixth-best prospect in the game by Baseball America, has never spent an entire big-league season as an everyday player. But last season with Pittsburgh, he posted a .264/.338/.438 batting line with 15 doubles, 13 home runs and 38 RBI in a career-high 359 plate appearances.
“The years of experience leading up to that were definitely important,” Snider said. “Pittsburgh traded for me and when I got over there, I had some transition time to get used to the National League and the style of play and coming into last season, earning the job as the starting right fielder and then later in the year being a bench guy and having different roles in my 21/2 years in Pittsburgh has really prepared me for the future of my career.
“We all strive to be everyday players and get 500-600 at bats and go out there have that opportunity, but I haven’t had that opportunity in my career,” Snider added. “And I don’t expect that opportunity to be handed to me just because the Baltimore Orioles liked what they saw and made a trade for me. . For me, I keep my focus on doing what I have to do to get better every day and continue to improve on some of the adjustments I was able to make over the course of the year mechanically with my swing.
“It’s been something I’ve struggled with over the years, consistency with my mechanics. When you go up and down between the major leagues and triple A as a young player, there are a lot of things that come with that. It’s a grind mentally, and it was something that took me a few years to really put into perspective and understand going into last season the adjustments I wanted to make, and I’m going to continue to make over the course of my career to be successful at this level.”
Snider said he’s excited about returning to the American League East — he spent parts of five seasons with Toronto — and Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said Tuesday that Snider is a natural fit for Camden Yards.
“Camden as a field is definitely a favorable place for hitters and for me, it will be nice having a little different distance out in left-center field as a left-handed hitter,” Snider said. “For me personally, staying in the middle of the field is a strength and when I’m staying in the middle of the field, good things are happening. The dimensions there are a little more favorable for a left-handed hitter to be able to stay in that left-center, center field section, just trying to stay disciplined and allow those homers and extra-base hits to come.”
Snider said he wasn’t surprised he was dealt and knew the Pirates were ready to give phenom Gregory Polanco the starting right-field job. So he went into the offseason prepared for a new home in 2015. Since he already had a spring training home set in Bradenton, Fla., he won’t have to reorganize his spring plans with the Orioles’ facility just a few miles south in Sarasota.
He is disappointed he will not be able to attend this weekend’s FanFest event at the Baltimore Convention Center. Snider is a big Seattle Seahawks fan and, before the trade, he made plans to go to the Super Bowl in Arizona to support his hometown team.
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