Both Adam Lind and Travis Snider have had some success at the major league level, but recently, both of their careers have taken a turn for the worse.
Lind, who could not hit a golf ball with an aluminum bat farther than you could toss a medicine ball, and Snider, who lost his spot on the depth chart to Eric Thames, have both endured a pretty bad last couple of years with the Jays.
Lind, who was signed long-term by the club along with the now-departed Aaron Hill (Arizona Diamondbacks), looked like the Jays long-term option at first base. Three years later, Lind was waiver fodder, and eventually, cleared waivers and has been a minor league All-Star since his demotion.
His last couple of seasons have seen a dramatic power loss, but even worse for Lind, a major decrease in batting average and on-base percentage—both huge indicators of success as a hitter
Snider on the other hand, was rushed a bit to the big show, and his inconsistencies with the bat showed as he was growing as a major leaguer. Snider has struggled with injuries the last couple of seasons, and his average, strikeout rate and walk rate all took major hits as a result.
Originally pegged as a can’t-miss hitting prospect with plus-plus power, Snider had never really hit his stride with the organization, and years later, isn’t even looked upon as a prospect anymore. He’s looking more like trade bait, rather than a prospect, and that’s just plain wrong in my books.
In 600 at-bat seasons, both Snider and Lind are on pace for nearly 40 HRs and 140-plus RBI seasons, while averaging well over .330 and having an OPS over 1.000.
The Pacific Coast League is a severely hitter-friendly league, but I look at how that league allowed Edwin Encarnacion to return to his form today (21 HR 50 RBI .280 AVG) and looking more and more like an All-Star bat.
Encarnacion struggled a few years ago and was demoted to the minors where he worked with Vegas hitting coach Chad Mottola and eventually earned his way back to the big leagues after demolishing Triple-A pitching for a 10-day stint.
Lind is on a different path than Encarnacion, as he still needs to get in better game shape according to Anthopolous, and Snider is still recovering from a wrist injury that has hampered him this entire season.
When both are in game shape, both of them would give the Jays a shot in the arm offensively and allow for more flexibility in the lineup, possibly giving Snider a platoon role with Rajai Davis and Lind a look at 1B/DH along with Encarnacion.
Whether its now, a week from now, or at the deadline, these two players need to be given a shot at some point. I would hate to see them dealt and excel with another organization just because we never gave them another shot at proving their worth.
They have the talent, but do the Jays have the patience?
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