Non-roster Invitees

[jnn123]

Here are the non-40 man players who have been invited to spring training by the Pirates thus far:

POSITION PLAYERS
OF Brandon Boggs
C Ramon Cabrera
1B Jeff Clement
1B Nick Evans
C/UTIL Jake Fox
C Eric Fryer
OF Robbie Grossman
IF Anderson Hernandez
C Jose Morales
C Tony Sanchez

PITCHERS
RHP Gerrit Cole
RHP Michael Crotta
RHP Ryota Igarashi
RHP Logan Kensing
RHP Shairon Martis
LHP Jo-Jo Reyes
LHP Doug Slaten*
RHP Tim Wood

*Slaten's deal isn't officially completed yet, but is expected to be soon.

[jnn123]

Boggs looks like he's just here as AAA depth in case of injury.

Cabrera is there because every team brings a million catchers.

Clement is there because...I don't know...he was on the team before.

Evans has a shot at making the team as a platoon bat, but the Casey McGehee pickup made him much less of a sure thing.

Fox will also compete for a similar role. I'd say he's behind the pack though.

Fryer won't make the team (unless there are a bunch of injuries), but should stick around in camp a while.

Grossman is just there as a bit of a reward for a strong season.

Anderson Hernandez is your standard minor league veteran middle infielder who they'll play all over the place. There isn't really a clear middle infield backup on the roster right now, but I still don't think it's likely he makes it.

Jose Morales has a legit shot at winning the backup catcher job. Debatable whether he or McKenry is the better player. McKenry has an option, Morales has an opt-out clause. Morales is also a switch hitter which may help a bit.

Sanchez is there just because he's a catcher really.

Gerrit Cole gets the standard high first round college player invitation.

Crotta has a bit of big league experience, so he'll probably hang around in spring a while before heading back to AAA.

Igarashi likely starts the season in the minors, but could be an option for a later call-up.

Kensing - same deal.

Martis is a bit interesting. One of the bigger name minor league free agents this year. He's had kind of an odd career with MLB experience at 21 and 22, but not 23 or 24. Actually got sent back to AA last year and had a solid year after altering his delivery. Could be a starting option later in the year if things don't go well.

Reyes could always make it as a lefty out of the pen, or more likely be held back as an emergency starter at AAA.

Slaten is coming off an injury, but if he's healthy he could be a decent option for a lefty relief spot.

Tim Wood will likely head back to AAA to provide relief pitching depth.

[Kipper]

good descriptions of every invitee. Looks about as accurate as I can see. there's nobody there that really excites me as far as ones that have any legit chance of making the team. Outside of Cole, Sanchez, Grossman and vans (for me personally), none of the rest are really that intriguing.

What I do like most about all of this is knowing that spring is right around the corner. Now that we are into the 2nd part of January, we just had a nice mold day in the Burgh yesterday (cold today), a lot of mild temperatures in general this spring, has all made for the feeling of spring coming early.

I really hope they keep Reyes down in AAA.

[Kipper]

I was checking out Martis after you commented on him.... certainly looks like command issues. Teams don't hit off of him. Despite fairly crappy ERA numbers, his H/9 numbers have been really good in his 2 MLB stints in 2008 and 2009. 7.8 and 8.7 H/9's are good numbers but his BB/K's are awful. In the minors, 2009 he had issues across the board, not sure if that was when they changed his delivery but his stats indicate either something was changed or about to be changed ... 2010 and 2011 both were progress seasons and 2011 he pitched fantastic. H/9, K/9 and BB/9 were all top notch and his WHIP as a result was sub 1.30.

I'm certainly adding Martis to my list of intriguing players.