Red Sox: Examining the remaining non-roster invitees in major league camp
By Jimmy Longo
As the Red Sox made their first round of cuts from major league camp on Tuesday, we took a look at some of the top remaining players and what value they might bring.
While our attention naturally shifts toward the stars on the Boston Red Sox roster, spring training provides an opportunity to watch some of the lesser known players in the organization. In camp this year there are a number of non-roster invitees worth monitoring.
Non-roster invitees provide and play a bevy of different roles in the typical spring training. For some clubs, non-roster invitees obviously provide competition for jobs, AAA-lifers getting spring training at-bats in search of coveted big league service time, prospects either trying to make the team out of camp or trying to impress the team for a major league call up soon down the road.
Regardless of which category the numerous amounts of non-roster players fall under in the organization, they can provide some context to a team’s spring and provide the juice behind headlines for writers in what can be a bit of a dry well before the season starts.
Looking at the Red Sox, their 15 non-roster invitees before spring training started were made up of five pitchers, three catchers, three infielders and four outfielders.
OF Junior Lake, third baseman Rafael Devers, and catcher Jordan Procyshen were all reassigned to minor league camp.
Moving forward, here’s a look at the top five remaining non-roster invitees, ranking their springs and their outlook in the future of the organization.