Today, the Chicago Cubs dropped their official announcement on non-roster invitations to Spring Training, which feels a little odd, because I doubt all the minor league signings are completed at this point. But, well, pitchers and catchers report in 20 days, so they have to get a move on.
Remember, all players on the 40-man roster are automatically invited to big league Spring Training, hence the “non-roster invitation” thing. So no worries – youngsters like Adbert Alzolay, Oscar De La Cruz will be coming.
The non-roster invites, from the Cubs’ release:
The following nine pitchers have been invited to major league camp: right-handed pitchers Anthony Bass, Craig Brooks, David Garner, Justin Hancock, Thomas Hatch and Williams Perez, as well as left-handed pitchers Alberto Baldonado, Daniel Camarena and Kyle Ryan.
Four infielders have been invited to major league camp: Ryan Court, Mike Freeman, Jason Vosler and Chesny Young.
Two outfielders have been invited to big league camp: Jacob Hannemann and Bijan Rademacher.
Four catchers have been invited to big league camp: Taylor Davis, Chris Giménez, Ian Rice and Ali Solis.
Brooks, Garner and Hatch are pitching prospects, the lattermost of whom is one of the better starting pitching prospects in the organization (and just got some attention from Luke earlier today). Bass, Camarena, and Ryan were minor league signings this offseason (you can see more on them at the links on their names). Perez is returning after signing a minor league deal last year, Hancock was a trade acquisition last year, and Baldonado is a guy we’ll have to dig in on.
On the positional side, Court was a minor league signing earlier this offseason, and ditto Chris Giménez, who has received plenty of attention already. Freeman, Davis, and Solis are returning on minor league deals (technically the same is true of Hannemann, though he still feels more like a prospect). Then you’ve got the positional prospects in Vosler, Young, Rademacher, and Rice. I’m not sure you could have picked four guys who are more pet favorites of Luke, so I’m sure he’s thrilled right about now.
As I said, as new minor league signings come in the next few weeks, there could be other non-roster players invited, too. Here’s the whole group as of today: