On Monday, Kevin Smith signed a minor league deal with the New York Yankees, and yesterday it came out that Kirby Snead had signed a minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners. Not only are both players formerly of the Oakland A's, but they were both also part of the return package from the Toronto Blue Jays in the Matt Chapman deal. Smith was non-tendered by the A's earlier this off-season and Snead was outrighted off the 40-man roster before electing free agency.
Snead spent a large chunk of 2023 on the IL with a left shoulder strain, and once he was activated at the end of June, he was immediately optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas. The only time he got in the big leagues last season came from the beginning of August to the beginning of September. The left-hander totaled 11 2/3 innings in 15 games in that span and held a 4.63 ERA with a 1.71 WHIP.
In his first season with the A's, Snead received more regular playing time, getting into 46 games and racking up 44 2/3 innings with a 5.84 ERA.
The 29-year-old did a good job of limiting hard contact in 2023, with a hard hit% of 29.3, ranking 36th among all pitchers with at least 25 batted ball events. To be fair, Snead's sample size was pretty low, so this isn't indicative of a huge change or anything, but it's something to keep an eye on moving forward.
Now joining the Mariners, Snead has a chance to reach another level in his career. The Mariners have quietly turned into a pitching factory, where anyone they pick up could be a shut down reliever the next time you see them. Snead has a good amount of movement on his changeup, which could be a weapon that Seattle tries to unlock for him. This past season his vertical movement (5.4 inches vs. average) would have ranked 10th among all changeups in baseball with enough pitches thrown, and his horizontal movement (2.2) would have been top 50.
Snead averaged 92.9 on his four-seamer in '23, 81.7 mph on his slider, 92.8 on his sinker, and 87.8 on the change. He has the potential to be a weapon out of the bullpen, and he may have just landed in the best spot to help him unlock that potential.
More must-reads: