The Orioles announced 26 non-roster players who have been invited to big league spring training.
Samuel Basallo is coming back to Orioles spring training. The catching prospect was part of big league camp a year ago, at which time he was maybe only the third-most exciting prospect behind Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo. The O’s announced their spring camp roster invites on Thursday afternoon, six days before pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to Sarasota.
Many of the names below are ones who have been reported as minor league signings through the offseason. Many are also ones who you have not thought about before and will not think about again. Even a team like the Orioles that is always juggling at the bottom of its roster can only fit so many guys into the picture. That is the nature of spring training non-roster invites. Those who are not prospects are not likely to have a meaningful impact on the team’s future.
You never know which ones might end up turning into something. Two years ago, Ryan O’Hearn was one of ten infielders on a non-roster invite. He’s made key contributions to the last two Orioles teams. Last year, Albert Suárez was in the pile of non-roster invites. He wasn’t even the only guy in camp with the last name Suárez. That turned out to be a fortunate non-roster presence.
There are 26 non-roster invites to camp this season. That’s up from just 20 a year ago. Compared to last year, the Orioles are trying out a lot more infield depth. There were no non-prospect infielders invited a year ago. There are also more outfielders in camp. Last year, there was only one. This year, there are five, of whom three are actual prospects: Dylan Beavers, Enrique Bradfield Jr., and Jud Fabian.
As a reminder, the list of players included in camp also has the whole 40-man roster, who are automatically invited. The full list of non-roster invites sent out by the team on Thursday:
Pitchers (12)
- LHP Raúl Alcantara
- RHP Justin Armbruester
- RHP Matt Bowman
- LHP Jakob Hernandez
- RHP Yaramil Hiraldo
- RHP Corbin Martin
- RHP Robinson Martínez
- RHP Rodolpfo Martinez
- RHP Levi Stoudt
- RHP Carlos Tavera
- RHP Thaddeus Ward
- RHP Nathan Webb
Catchers (4)
- Silas Ardoin
- David Bañuelos
- Samuel Basallo
- Maverick Handley
All four of these catchers were also non-roster invites to last year’s spring training.
Infielders (5)
- Nick Gordon
- Jeremiah Jackson
- Vimael Machin
- Livan Soto
- Terrin Vavra
Outfielders (5)
- Jordyn Adams
- Franklin Barreto
- Dylan Beavers
- Enrique Bradfield Jr.
- Jud Fabian
Maybe the biggest story about Orioles spring training a year ago was whether Holliday would end up making the Opening Day roster. He ended up not doing so. I don’t think that there are any of the prospect non-roster invites who have much chance to make the first 26-man roster this time around.
For the yet-to-debut players, it’s more going to be about getting a little experience around the big league players and maybe making a bit of an impression on the coaches and front office when everyone is in one place. The outfield prospect trio probably has the best chance to prove something. With Cedric Mullins set to become a free agent after this season, Tyler O’Neill a possibility to opt out after just one season, and Heston Kjerstad sitting as possible trade bait, there is going to be room for someone to break in next year.
This list means there will be 66 players in big league camp. Cut that number in half and you’ve still got seven more players than will make the team. There are a lot of cuts to make between now and spring training. With most of the big league roster seemingly set, most of the cuts are ones you could look at right now and say, yeah, that guy isn’t making the team. Finding another Suárez is possible, but not likely. That kind of thing just doesn’t happen every year.
Maybe MASN will even bother to broadcast more than a few spring training games this year. The Orioles-owned network has not yet announced its broadcast plans. Last year, that announcement came the day after pitchers and catchers reported.