How Rick Ankiel Made Happy Return To Cardinals As Pitcher

Three years after he left the Busch Stadium mound with his pitching career _ as well as his pitches _ spiraling out of control, Rick Ankiel returned to St. Louis as a confident Cardinals reliever embraced by the fans.

RetroSimba

Chris Snyder Decides To Retire

Anthony Andro Twitter

Rangers Sign Chris Snyder To Minors Deal

Evan Grant Twitter

Nationals Release Chris Snyder

Washington Official Twitter

Nationals Highly Interested In Oliver Perez

But even though the Nationals couldn’t lure Baker, they remain highly interested in another Scott Boras client, left-handed reliever Oliver Perez, according to the person familiar with the situation. The Nationals cast a wide net for free agent left-handed relievers this winter, with Perez among the group.

Washington Post

Roy Halladay Signs One-Day Minor League Contract With Blue Jays & Retires

Baseball America

Chris Snyder Rejoins Nationals With Minor League Deal

The Nationals agreed to terms with catcher Chris Snyder on a Minor League deal with an invitation to Spring Training, the team announced Saturday.

Washington Official Site

Bud Norris A Good Bet To Be Moved

Meet Bud Norris. He’s a 28-year-old right-handed pitcher for the Houston Astros. He loves to golf. Born and raised in Marin County, Calif., educated at Cal Poly, Norris and his girlfriend are proud owners of an Alaskan Klee Kai named Bailey.

Fox Sports

Angels Send Matt Young To Minors

The Angels cut eight players from Major League camp Sunday: pitchers Nick Maronde, Chad Cordero, Fernando Cabrera and Kevin Johnson, outfielders Scott Cousins and Matt Young, infielder Tommy Field and catcher Luke Carlin.

Anaheim Official Site

Roger Dean Stadium Announces Two Additions To Front Office

Roger Dean Stadium announced the hiring of two new positions to the front office, along with recognizing an internal promotion effective earlier in the year. Melissa Kuper joins Lisa Fegley as assistant general manager, each taking on administrative responsibilities for the Jupiter Hammerheads and Palm Beach Cardinals, respectively, and Chris Snyder joins the staff as a corporate partnerships manager.

TC Palm

Offensive Depth A Must In NL Central

Major League lineups are best known by their cores. You think of the Cardinals, and you think of Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday. With the Brewers, it's Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. Mention the Reds, and you probably have thoughts of Joey Votto and Jay Bruce.

Cardinals Official Site

How Much Of A Difference Will Clint Hurdle Make?

None of the Pirates' previous five managers led the club to a winning season, but Hurdle announced that he is ready for the challenge. Hurdle takes over after Russell's clubs lost 299 games over a three-year period. While Russell was often criticized for being too passive and even-keel, Hurdle's booming introduction at his November press conference has already won him over plenty of fans. It took some time, but Hurdle turned around the Rockies with a young core that he sees as similar to the one he is inheriting in Pittsburgh.

Pirates Official Site

Overthinking It: Anatomy Of A Trade Deadline

As non-waiver deadline time approaches at the end of each July, baseball observers divide teams into buyers and sellers, separating the soon-to-haves from the soon-to-have-nots. A few players from each team placed into the latter camp earn the dreaded “trade target” tag, dooming them to weeks of reading and hearing their names bandied about in various media by every rumormonger in the business, always unsure of where they’ll be playing their next game or spending their next night.

Baseball Prospectus

Jaime Garcia Will Get Extra Day Off; After Midnight; Pirates Are Passed

The spinoff from the Cardinals acquiring righthander Jake Westbrook from Cleveland on Saturday is that, since Westbrook will be starting here Monday against Houston, lefthanded rookie Jaime Garcia will be moved back to Tuesday and, for the moment, righthander Blake Hawksworth, 4-7 in 29 games (eight starts), is back in the bullpen.

STL Today

Yankees Want Dan Haren, Not Chad Qualls & Chris Snyder

Jon Heyman Twitter

Diamondacks Ready To Deal?

Others in the industry, however, anticipate that the D-backs will become more aggressive following their front-office shakeup – and specifically, more inclined to trade ace right-hander Dan Haren.

Fox Sports

Would Edwin Jackson Or Chris Snyder Be Good Fits For The Cardinals?

At this time last year, Jackson was pitching his way toward an All-Star selection as a Tiger. He hasn’t been quite the same since, with a 4.58 ERA in the second half last year and 5.05 so far in 2010. Jackson’s lively fastball still hums around 95 mph and above, one reason teams will be willing to take a chance on him. The right pitching coach could make a difference for Jackson, still a relatively young pitcher at age 26.

Prospective Employer: The Cardinals are never shy about taking on struggling pitchers. Jackson would flourish under pitching guru Dave Duncan.

------------------------------------------------------
Snyder hasn’t had a productive season at the plate since 2008, and the Diamondbacks tried to move him over the offseason. But Snyder handles pitchers well and has postseason experience, making him an ideal backup for contending clubs. (The Diamondbacks obviously can’t trade both Montero and Snyder.)

Prospective Employer: Snyder could go to St. Louis and help Yadier Molina get a little more time off ahead of the pennant drive and postseason; Molina leads the NL in innings caught, which might be contributing to his .245 batting average.

Fox Sports