Chris Snyder will undergo surgery Friday on his lower back and could miss the rest of the season.

Rough news, but not completely unexpected. Snyder has been experiencing back problems all season and will now have the situation cleaned up with a surgical procedure. The 32-year-old catcher was batting .271/.376/.396 in 119 plate appearances. Dusty Brown and Wyatt Toregas will continue sharing catching duties for Pittsburgh.

Bad news for the Pirates, especially with Ryan Doumit and Jason Jaramillo already out. This might also put an end to trade rumors surrounding Doumit and Snyder.

UPDATE by Charlie: If the Pirates know Snyder is going to be out for a substantial amount of time, they can't just let Brown and Toregas be their catchers. I'd look for them to acquire someone from outside the organization, or promote Eric Fryer. I don't want Fryer to be promoted if it's only going to be for a couple of weeks, because if the Pirates promote him, they'll have to keep him on the 40-man roster or risk losing him. But if it's a matter of months, then I think it's worth it.