Arizona Diamondbacks Clear A Lot Of Payroll

According to azcentral.com, the Dbacks cleared $47.6 million.

2010 salary saved: $6.8 million — Dan Haren, Edwin Jackson, Chad Qualls, Chris Snyder, minus salaries of newly acquired Bobby Crosby, Ryan Church, D.J. Carasco (those total $1.2 million)

2011 salary saved: $23.8 million — Haren, Jackson, part of Snyder

2012 salary saved: $13.5 million — Haren, Snyder’s buyout

2013 salary saved: $3.5 million — Haren’s buyout

D’Backs trade Chad Qualls to Tampa for a Player To Be Named Later

The Arizona Diamondbacks announced today they have traded right-handed pitcher Chad Qualls to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later, according to D-backs’ interim General Manager Jerry Dipoto.

Qualls, 31, has a 30-26 ERA and 3.74 ERA in 433 games in seven Major League seasons with the Houston Astros and D-backs from 2004-10. The right-hander had a 1-4 record and 8.29 ERA (35 ER in 38.0 IP) with 12 saves, 15 walks and 34 strikeouts in 43 games for the D-backs this season. His career-high 24 saves in 2009 rank sixth on the D-backs’ single-season list, while his 1.21 walks per 9.0-innings ratio and 6.43 strikeouts-to-walks ratio led all Major League relievers. Qualls was acquired by the D-backs, along with Chris Burke and Juan Gutierrez, from the Astros on Dec. 14, 2007.

D’Backs Trade Chris Snyder to Pirates for Ryan Church and Bobby Crosby

The Arizona Diamondbacks announced today they have acquired outfielder Ryan Church, infielder Bobby Crosby and right-handed pitcher D.J. Carrasco from the Pittsburgh Pirates for catcher Chris Snyder, infielder Pedro Ciriaco and cash considerations, according to D-backs’ interim General Manager Jerry Dipoto.

Church, 31, has a .264 batting average with 54 home runs, 129 doubles, 7 triples and 260 RBI in seven Major League seasons with the Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and Pirates from 2004-10. He batted .183 with 3 home runs, 11 doubles, a triple and 18 RBI in 68 games this season for the Pirates. Church, who was signed by the Pirates as a free agent on Jan. 13, 2010, has a .993 fielding percentage with 29 outfield assists as an outfielder during his career.

Crosby, 30, compiled a .237 batting average with 62 home runs, 144 doubles, 8 triples and 274 RBI in eight Major League seasons with the Oakland Athletics and Pirates. He was named the American League Rookie of the Year in 2004 after leading AL rookies with 22 home runs, 64 RBI, 70 runs scored, 130 hits, 34 doubles, 58 walks, 232 total bases and 57 extra-base hits. Crosby also garnered AL Rookie Player of the Year honors from The Sporting News and received the Players Choice Award as the league’s Outstanding Rookie that same year after becoming just the fourth big league rookie to hit 20 or more home runs as a shortstop. He batted .224 with a home run, 8 doubles and 11 RBI in 61 games this season for the Pirates. Crosby was signed by the Pirates as a free agent on Dec. 10, 2009.

Carrasco, 33, has a 22-18 record and 4.37 ERA in 226 games (23 starts) in six Major League seasons with the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox and Pirates from 2003-10. Since the beginning of 2009, he leads all big league relievers with 145.0 innings pitched. The right-handed pitcher compiled a 2-2 record and 3.88 ERA (24 ER in 55.2 IP) with 22 walks and 45 strikeouts in 45 appearances this season and has held opponents to 1 run or less in 40 of his 45 contests. He has limited right-handed hitters to a .260 average (229-for-881) over the course of his career. Carrasco was signed by the Pirates as a minor league free agent on Jan. 20, 2010.

Snyder, 29, batted .231 with 10 home runs, 8 doubles and 32 RBI in 65 games this season for the D-backs. He hit safely in a career-high-tying 9 straight games from April 19-30, over which he batted .324 (11-for-34) with 7 runs scored, 2 doubles, 3 home runs, 7 RBI and a .647 slugging percentage. Snyder compiled a .233 batting average with 62 home runs, 86 doubles, a triple and 240 RBI in seven seasons with the D-backs from 2004-10. The catcher was the club’s second-round selection in the 2002 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Houston.

Ciriaco, 24, batted .259 with 6 home runs, 15 doubles, 7 triples and 51 RBI in 87 games this season for Triple-A Reno. He entered the 2010 season ranked by Baseball America as having the organization’s best infield arm for the fourth consecutive season. In 2009, he was named to the regular season and end-of-season Southern League All-Star teams after finishing second in the league with 38 stolen bases and fourth with 149 hits. Ciriaco compiled a .277 batting average with 23 home runs, 115 doubles, 35 triples and 302 RBI in seven seasons in the D-backs organization. He was signed by the D-backs as a non-drafted free agent on Feb. 28, 2003.