Brandon

Snyder

The 34-year-old spent the last three seasons playing for the Nationals minor league system. The 17-year veteran was a first-round pick for the Orioles in 2005 and went on to play for five major league teams. Snyder played in 1,374 minor leagues games during his career and posted a .240/.276/.455 slash line over 211 plate appearances at the major league level.

Of the 10 reassignments, the only surprise is Parra, who looked like he might’ve had a shot to break camp on the big-league roster as a reserve outfielder. Yet, the Nationals decided to go with versatile utilityman Hernan Perez instead.

Snyder had entered the game as a pinch-runner in the fifth inning and went down on strikes in his first at-bat. He played the role of hero in his next trip to the plate though, depositing a Lewis Thorpe offering over the wall in left-center for the game-changing blast. He’s now hitting .286 (4-for-14) with a pair of homers and six RBI on the spring.

Snyder spent the majority of the 2018 season with the Triple-A affiliate of the Rays, batting .253/.329/.465 with 18 home runs and 60 RBI in 106 games. The 32-year-old drew just six plate appearances at the major league level last year and zero in 2017. He will be minor league depth for the Nats in 2019.

Snyder, who has been dealing with soreness since May, might get an MRI on the shoulder. The 2005 first-round pick was hitting just .234/.267/.339 in 124 AB for Aberdeen.

Snyder, the 13th overall selection in the 2005 draft, was removed from low Single-A Delmarva’s roster last month after hitting .194/.237/.340 in 38 games. He’s already had some arm troubles, putting his future as a catcher in doubt. A shortstop in high school, he might be moved to third base at some point.

Snyder, who was Baltimore’s first-round pick last June, has a torn rotator cuff in his left, non-throwing shoulder. He’ll miss about nine months, but the injury shouldn’t hurt his ability to stay at catcher once he returns.

Brandon Snyder will get his first start with the Rangers. Moreland is hitting just .150 with one home run in 22 plate appearances this season.

With Adrian Beltre ailing, Snyder got the start at the hot corner and came up big. He’s proved to be a decent spot starter for manager Ron Washington, as he also went deep last week in his last start. The reality, though, is that his playing time will be limited, as will his fantasy value.

Beltre had been limited to pinch-hitting since coming down with hamstring soreness at the end of April. He is batting .318/.352/.565 with five home runs and 16 RBI in 91 plate appearances this season. Brandon Snyder will play third base and Michael Young is at first for Monday’s series-opener with first-place Baltimore.