My least favorite thing of late February: Shoveling snow for the seventh time in the month. My favorite thing: My annual scroll through all the non-roster invitees to spring training. While every team brings many of its top prospects to major league camp, it’s the veterans who make these lists interesting. You have those coming off injuries, those hoping for one last season in the majors, or those simply signed to minor league contracts who are all but locks to get bumped up to the active roster and make the Opening Day roster.
So let’s go through each team and pick out one player to watch. I do pick a few of those top prospects, but there also are former All-Stars and other blasts from the past worth noting. Like all things in baseball this season, let’s kick it off in the NL West and the Dodgers and Padres.
NL West
The Dodgers are loaded, of course, so most of their non-roster players are their younger minor league prospects. Morrow is a notable exception, as he tries to make it back to the majors for the first time since 2018, when he had a 1.47 ERA and 22 saves with the Cubs before going down in mid-July. Morrow’s career is one of those that deserves a do-over. The Mariners messed him up early, going back and forth between starting and relieving. He started to put things together with the Blue Jays — remember that 17-strikeout one-hitter in 2010? — and then battled injuries before resurfacing as a dominant reliever for the Dodgers in 2017. Here’s hoping for a healthy season.
The Padres don’t need to mess around with too many veterans on their non-roster list, so that makes Gore their must-watch pitcher in camp. He established himself as the top pitching prospect in the minors after a dominant 2019 season, but reportedly struggled with his mechanics at the alternate camp last summer, one reason the Padres never called him up.
As strong as the San Diego rotation looks, if Gore is back in tune he’ll earn a promotion at some point.
Littell has always been a favorite sleeper of mine after he went 19-1 in the minors for the Yankees in 2017. He had a good season in the bullpen for the Twins in 2019, but served up five home runs in 6⅓ innings in 2020, which is how he ended up on the Giants. There are spots to be won in the San Francisco bullpen and he could be a multi-inning reliever with his repertoire.
How bad have Rockies first basemen been? Since 2015, they rank just 23rd in the majors in OPS and wOBA, despite Coors Field. Their park-adjusted wRC+ since 2015 is the worst. The Rockies didn’t sign a single free agent to a major league contract — but they did sign Cron, who hit 55 home runs for the Rays and Twins in 2018-2019. I guess that makes him the big offseason addition. His 2020 season with the Tigers ended with knee surgery in August, but he has a chance to beat out Josh Fuentes at first base and could certainly hit 30-plus home runs in this park.
Devenski was a key reliever for the Astros in 2016-17, when he finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2016 and then made the All-Star team in 2017. His signature changeup has remained effective, but batters have increasingly teed off against his fastball. He had surgery to fix bone spurs in his elbow after 2019, which might explain the 4.83 ERA that season, and inability to make it back in 2020 (he allowed six runs in 3⅔ innings). The Diamondbacks had a 4.60 bullpen ERA in 2020, so a healthy Devenski could earn a spot.
NL Central
If Martini had played in the 1970s or ’80s he would have had a 15-year career as a left-handed pinch hitter and role player. In 2021, pitchers take up too many roster spots so it’s hard to carry a player like Martini, who can hit and take some walks, but lacks power and defensive chops in the outfield. He has hit .269/.372/.380 over 288 major league plate appearances, but he’s behind Jake Marisnick, who has a major league deal, on the backup outfielder depth chart.
Naquin finished third in the Rookie of the Year balloting for Cleveland in 2016 after hitting .296/.372/.514 and was the center fielder in the postseason against right-handed pitching. He looked like a potential foundational player at the time, but there were red flags: He struggled in the second half, he made a couple of crucial miscues on defense in the postseason, and he struck out more than 30% of the time. He battled some injuries, didn’t hit, performed better in 2019, then hit .218/.248/.383 in 40 games in 2020, leading Cleveland to non-tender him. The Reds have seven outfielders on their 40-man roster, so the path to playing time isn’t clear.
The Cardinals probably play the “roster shuffle” game less than any other organization — they used the fewest players of any team in 2019 and 2016 — so this isn’t the place for veteran minor league free agents to sign.
I highlight Liberatore not because he’s likely to make an impact in the majors in 2021 — he pitched in low-A ball in 2019 — but because he was the main player acquired from the Rays in the Randy Arozarena trade. He’s No. 80 in Kiley McDaniel’s list of top 100 prospects, but with three above-average pitches, the Cardinals do feel he could advance quickly.
Zimmermann’s five-year, $110 million contract with the Tigers couldn’t have gone much worse — well, for the Tigers anyway. I guess it worked out OK for Zimmermann, regardless of his ERA (he went 25-41 with a 5.63 ERA with Detroit). There isn’t much of a chance Zimmermann ends up contributing to the Brewers given his recent track record, but it goes to show how hard it is to give it up: Even though he has made more than $140 million in his career, he’s not ready to quit playing just yet.
The Pirates have several veterans with a chance to crack the 26-man Opening Day roster, including the 35-year-old Frazier, outfielder Brian Goodwin and infielder Wilmer Difo. Let’s just say this might be a revolving door of a roster in 2021 for Pittsburgh. Frazier was with the Rangers and Mets last season, hitting .236/.302/.382, and since Ke’Bryan Hayes is the third baseman, manager Derek Shelton said Frazier was brought in as a right-handed platoon partner for Colin Moran at first base and for his veteran leadership.
NL East
Reliever Carl Edwards Jr. and Pablo Sandoval are also in camp, but Kipnis looks like a good bet to crack the Opening Day roster. The Braves have just 14 position players on the 40-man roster, but two of them are outfielder Abraham Almonte and infielder Jack Mayfield and they have three catchers, so there are probably two bench spots in play here. Kipnis hit .237/.341/.404 with the Cubs in 2020.
Other than veteran catcher Sandy Leon, the Marlins are going primarily with prospects, so let’s focus on Meyer, the third overall pick in the 2020 draft out of the University of Minnesota after hitting 100 in the spring with the Gophers with a wipeout slider. He could pitch in a relief role right now with that combo and the Marlins could use a power arm in the bullpen. It wouldn’t be unprecedented for a team to develop a young pitcher like this. The White Sox drafted Chris Sale in 2010 and he spent 2011 in relief for the White Sox, before moving to the rotation in 2012.
The Phillies have a bunch of other long-time major leaguers in camp as non-roster players, including Neftali Feliz, Ivan Nova, Hector Rondon, Tony Watson, Jeff Mathis and Matt Joyce, but Kintzler was the best of the bunch in 2020, saving 12 games for the Marlins with a 2.22 ERA. He’ll make $3 million plus incentives if he makes the team — which he will, as signing him to a minor league deal is merely a way of keeping somebody else on the 40-man roster for now. Heck, even though Kintzler is hardly your classic closer since he gets grounders instead of strikeouts, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he ends up with that role instead of Archie Bradley.
Remember him? The Diamondbacks signed Tomás to a six-year, $68.5 million contract in the midst of the big splurge of Cuban players like Jose Abreu, Yoenis Cespedes and Yasiel Puig. Tomas actually hit 31 home runs in 2016 but was otherwise so bad he was still worth negative WAR. Anyway, his deal with Arizona finally expired and the Nationals quickly scooped him up in November.
The lack of upper-level minor league depth for the Nationals is reflected in a long list of veteran invitees, with the likes of Gerardo Parra, Hernan Perez, Jordy Mercer, Welington Castillo, Blake Swihart, Luis Avilan, Javy Guerra and T.J. McFarland all in camp.
The Mets also have gone big on non-roster vets, with Mike Montgomery, Tommy Hunter, Jerad Eickhoff, Jerry Blevins, Jose Peraza and Brandon Drury, among others. Smith led the American League with 46 steals for the Mariners in 2019, but hit just .227/.300/.335 and then hit .133 in 45 at-bats in 2020. He was worth 3.6 WAR for Tampa Bay in 2018 and he’s still just 27, but he lacks power and he’s not good in center field despite his speed. He looks like Triple-A depth until somebody gets hurt.
AL West
Lowrie was a first-time All-Star at age 34 for the A’s in 2018, signed a free-agent deal with the Mets and played nine games in two seasons due to a variety of injuries, including a knee issue in 2020. It feels like a longshot, but Oakland’s second base job is wide open (Chad Pinder, Tony Kemp) and there are potential DH at-bats as well.
Siri received some prospect love coming up through the Reds’ system, especially after a 2017 season in Class A when he hit 24 home runs and stole 46 bases. He’s now 25 and has yet to play in the majors as his poor control of the strike zone has led to too many strikeouts and undermined his offensive statistics. But he can play center field and right now the Astros’ starting center fielder is … Myles Straw, I guess. If the Astros can help him with his approach, he has a chance of popping up at some point in 2021.
Kiley’s No. 3 overall prospect, Kelenic’s name popped up into the news during Mariners’ president Kevin Mather’s blabbering Zoom call with a local rotary club. He said Kelenic had turned down a long-term contract offer, would start the season in the minors and was upset that Baseball America had ranked teammate Julio Rodriguez third and Kelenic fourth on its list of top prospects. Needless to say, this is a young man not lacking in confidence. No doubt Mather’s comments will only further fuel the union-ownership divide over service time, but Kelenic has also played just 21 games above Class A. Now, what if he goes out and has a monster spring?
Guerra was 30 years old before he reached the majors in 2015, but he has been pretty solid the past five seasons for the Brewers and then the Diamondbacks in 2020, with a 3.77 career ERA. His FIP hasn’t been impressive because of a high walk rate. He started for Milwaukee in 2018 and then had a 3.44 ERA in relief the past two seasons. He can potentially help the Angels as a multi-innings guy out of the pen or as a spot starter if needed.
The Rangers have a number of players with big league experience in camp as non-roster invitees, which is usually a sign that there are roster spots to be captured. DeShields was with the Rangers from 2015 to 2019, so they know what he brings: Solid defense in center field, speed on the bases, limited production at the plate.
Leody Taveras projects as the starting center fielder, but he struggled at the plate in 2020 and DeShields gives them an alternate if Tavares needs more time in the minors or gets hurt.
AL Central
One reason the Twins non-tendered the productive Eddie Rosario is they felt they had some internal replacements ready. Alex Kirilloff, No. 22 on ESPN’s top 100 prospects list, will get first crack at left field, but Larnach (No. 37) isn’t far behind after hitting .309/.384/.458 in 2019. Given a normal season in 2020, Larnach would be banging on the door for a major league job in 2021, but if he hits well in the spring and in the minors, he could be a replacement at a corner spot or DH if Nelson Cruz suddenly gets old.
The third overall pick in 2019, Vaughn was one of the best college hitters of the decade and expected to make a rapid rise to the majors. Even though he didn’t tear it up in his pro debut in 2019 and didn’t play in 2020 because of COVID-19, the fact that the White Sox didn’t sign a free-agent first baseman or DH (to go with Jose Abreu) suggests they perhaps believe Vaughn can hit his way into the 2021 lineup. That could happen sooner rather than later if he looks good in spring training.
That’s right, Pérez is back hoping for a 19th season in the majors. The old lefty can still get left-handers out, holding them to a .199 average the past three seasons (all spent with Cleveland). You might think the three-batter-minimum rule hurts him, but he also has held righties to a .216 average over that span. Pérez should be a lock to make a team as the only lefty on the 40-man roster with big league time is Logan Allen, who has a 5.40 ERA in 38 career innings.
The Royals are trying to turn back the clock to their glory years of 2014 and 2015. They had success last year rehabilitating Greg Holland, who had a 1.91 ERA and six saves. Holland is back for 2021 and now they’re trying to fix Davis, who pitched just 4⅓ innings in 2020 and allowed 10 runs (and had an 8.65 ERA in 2019). Davis did have a right shoulder strain and getting away from Colorado could help. He makes $1.25 million with another $1 million in incentives if he makes the club.
Núñez hit 31 home runs for the Orioles in 2019 and then hit .256/.324/.492 in 2020 with 12 home runs. The Orioles rewarded him with a non-tender in order to save an estimated $3 million he would have earned in arbitration.
Núñez is pretty one-dimensional — he doesn’t walk, doesn’t bring much on defense, strikes out too much — and he’s stuck behind Jeimer Candelario at first base and Miguel Cabrera at DH. But he has a chance to make a team that needs offense.
AL East
The Rays have a deep 40-man roster and deep minor league system, so they have no need for players who were good five years ago. Plus, we all know whom to watch this spring in Port Charlotte and it’s not Hunter Strickland. Can Franco hit his way onto the team? Probably not Opening Day, but Joey Wendle and Yandy Diaz are hardly roadblocks to the majors at some point in 2021.
Bruce is pretty much a one-trick pony at this point in his career: Swing hard and hope to connect. He homered 26 times in 310 at-bats in 2019 and six times in 96 at-bats in 2020, but he also hit .212 across the two seasons with a .259 OBP. This isn’t a knock specifically against Bruce because he’s had a very good career with 318 home runs and three All-Star appearances, but there are too many players like this in today’s game, guys who can pop a few home runs but don’t really do anything else to help you win. Anyway, any chance Bruce had of actually making the team likely evaporated when the Yankees re-signed Brett Gardner, so he’s looking to have a good spring and maybe another team picks him up.
The 37-year-old veteran last pitched in the majors in 2019, when he had a 3.47 ERA out of the bullpen for the Pirates. He was with the Phillies in camp last summer, but got released, so who knows if he has anything left to offer. He can be effective against lefties, but remains too wild to be a key piece. The only lefty reliever on the 40-man, however, is Ryan Borucki (and perhaps Anthony Kay), so maybe Liriano pitches his way onto the team.
Hernández was actually pitching well last March for the Braves and had a shot to make their Opening Day rotation when COVID-19 hit and he decided to sit out when action resumed.
Look, his ERA rose his final five seasons in a row in Seattle, so this is a long shot. Then again, the Orioles’ official website already lists him as the No. 2 starter behind John Means. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Gonsalves received some top-100 prospect love while in the Twins’ organization and reached the majors in 2018, but then pitched just 13 innings in 2019. He was with the Red Sox at the alternate site last year after they claimed him off waivers from the Mets and reportedly saw his fastball velocity increase from 89-90 to 94-96. Given Boston’s pitching problems a year ago, he could get a chance at some point if he throws enough strikes.