Arizona sends Snyder to Pittsburgh for Crosby, Church and Carrasco
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Arizona Diamondbacks traded catcher Chris Snyder, minor league shortstop Pedro Ciriaco and cash to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday for former AL Rookie of the Year Bobby Crosby, outfielder Ryan Church and right-hander D.J. Carrasco.
The trade was the second of the day for the last-place Diamondbacks, who earlier sent reliever Chad Qualls to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named.
In a deal between two last-place teams, Pittsburgh receives a catcher who had a 240-game errorless streak end on June 6, the third-longest streak in major league history behind those of Mike Redmond and Mike Matheny. Snyder, 29, is hitting .231 with 10 homers and 32 RBIs.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ciriaco, 24, batted .259 with six homers, 51 RBIs and 14 steals at Triple-A Reno this year and was picked for the Futures game. He is expected to report to Triple-A Indianapolis.
Pittsburgh also recalled infielders Argenis Diaz and Jeff Clement from Indianapolis.
The Pirates are last in the NL Central at 36-66 and headed to a major league record 18th consecutive losing season. Arizona is last in the NL West at 38-65.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The 31-year-old Church was signed as a free agent in January and is hitting just .183 with three homers and 18 RBIs. His production dipped sharply after he sustained a pair of concussions in a three-month span while with the New York Mets in 2008.
Crosby, a 30-year-old infielder, also signed with the Pirates as a free agent during the offseason and hit just .224 with one homer and 11 RBIs. In 2004, he was voted the AL rookie honor after hitting .239 with 22 homers and 64 RBIs for Oakland.
Carrasco, 33, is 2-2 with a 3.88 ERA in 45 games this season, striking out 45 in 55 2-3 innings. He has a 22-18 record in 23 starts and 203 reliefs appearances in six big league seasons with Kansas City, the Chicago White Sox and Pittsburgh.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Qualls, 31-year-old right-hander, is 1-4 with 12 saves and an 8.29 ERA this season, striking out 34 and walking 15 in 38 innings, down from a career-high 24 saves last year.