Toronto Blue Jays: Former top prospect Travis Snider retires

Drafted in the first round of the 2006 MLB Draft, former Blue Jays prospect Travis Snider has announced on Instagram that he is hanging up his cleats and retiring from professional baseball.

Once touted as the next big prospect for the Jays, Snider headed into the 2008 season as MLB.com’s 14th best prospect in baseball ranked ahead of future big leaguers like Mike Moustakas, Joey Votto, and Max Scherzer. The lefty-hitting outfielder made his Major League debut later that season but was never able to make the big league roster on a full-time basis. His best season with the club came in 2010 when he appeared in 82 games and crafted a .255/.304/.463 slash line with 14 home runs, 32 RBI, and a .767 OPS.

Snider would be traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates at the 2012 trade deadline for right-handed pitcher Brad Lincoln. The Washington product would bounce around to a few different organizations over the past eight seasons, splitting time with the Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, and Miami Marlins organizations.

Former Blue Jays top prospect Travis Snider has announced on Instagram that he is retiring from baseball after eight years of flirting with the Majors.

He also spent the 2018 season with the Long Island Ducks in the Independent League where he posted solid numbers, .837 OPS with a .290 batting average. The former Jays prospect recently spent all of the 2021 campaign in the Braves farm system with the AAA Gwinnett Stripers, posting a .610 OPS through 138 at-bats before being released by the club in late September.

Snider’s career in the Majors ends at 630 games with a .244/.311/.399 slash line and a .709 OPS while splitting most of his time split between left and right field.

While once touted as an everyday player at the Major Leagues, Snider has grinded his way through the minors and the big leagues and now heads to the sunny shores of retirement and we wish him all the best!