Rangers sign Brandon Snyder

The Texas Rangers re-signed utility man Brandon Snyder on Wednesday, the team announced in a press release. Snyder received a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training.

Snyder, 26, spent the entire 2012 season in the Rangers organization, hitting .277/.309/.446 with three home runs, three walks and 26 strikeouts in 69 plate appearances at the big league level. In 92 plate appearances at Triple-A Round Rock, Snyder posted a .253/.286/.402 batting line.

Snyder was selected in the first round of the 2005 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Westfield High School in Virginia. He has received a total of 106 big-league plate appearances in three seasons with the Rangers and Baltimore Orioles. In eight minor league seasons, Snyder is a lifetime .275/.335/.431 hitter. His best season came in 2008, when he hit .315/.358/.490 with 13 home runs for High-A Fredrick of the Carolina League.

Along with retaining Snyder, the Rangers also claimed catcher Eli Whiteside off of waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.