Who said the bottom feeders can't make noise at the trading deadline?
The Diamondbacks and Pirates swapped five players in all, with two heading to Pittsburgh and three to Arizona, as both teams try to retool for next year.
The Pirates grabbed catcher Chris Snyder and an unnamed minor leaguer, Jack Magruder of Fox Sports Arizona tweeted. Snyder has caught 65 games for the Diamondbacks this season, splitting time with the more offense-oriented Miguel Montero. Hitting just .231, Snyder has an inconsistent bat, though he has smacked 10 homers and 32 RBIs. He also has a caught-stealing rate of just above 20 percent, below the 26 percent league average.
In return, the Diamondbacks added veteran bench players Bobby Crosby and Ryan Church and seasoned reliever D.J. Carrasco. All of them will likely see the field in Arizona and help tutor the team's youth movement.
The 2004 AL Rookie of the Year, Crosby never lived up to his first-round expectations in seven seasons in Oakland. Hitting .224 in 61 games in his first season in Pittsburgh, Crosby drove in just 11 and split time with Ronny Cedeno at shortstop. Crosby remains a gifted fielder, but his best season was by far that 2004 campaign, during which he belted 22 home runs and 64 RBIs.
Church has played in 69 games this season, but his .182 average has led to much more playing time for Lastings Milledge in right field. Arizona will be Church's fourth team in two years, having bounced between the Braves, Mets and Pirates since the start of the 2009 season.
The 33-year-old Carrasco will also head to the Southwest, as reported by MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. Carrasco will be part of the revamped bullpen for the Diamondbacks, who traded away Chad Qualls to the Rays on Saturday morning. With a 3.88 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 55 2/3 innings, Carrasco will fill Qualls' role.
