Non-Roster Invitees 2020 - NL East

Jumping across leagues from the last batch of Non-Roster Invitees I profiled, here are some highlights of the non-roster players invited to Spring Training by teams in the National League East division. As a recap, for each team, I'll highlight how many total NRI's will be in big league camp, which of them appeared in the majors in 2019, which were ranked in MLB.com's top 800 fantasy player rankings, and which appeared on MLB.com's Top 100 Prospect list. (All player statuses are current as of February 18, 2020, the first day when full squads were present for workouts for all 30 teams.)


Atlanta Braves
Total NRI: 26
MLB 19: 6
Ranked: 2
Top 100: 3

The back-to-back NL East champion Braves don't have a ton of holes to fill on their roster, but a couple of those holes have the chance to be occupied by non-roster players in big league camp. Starting with the top player ranked by MLB, we have Ian Anderson, a pitching prospect who has yet to make his major league debut. Based on his ranking (#448), he actually projects as Atlanta's fifth starter: their locks at one-thru-four rank between 114 and 233, although the usage of Sean Newcomb (#404), a reliever in 2019, could change that calculus. Another rotation candidate at the polar opposite of his career trajectory to Anderson is 15-year veteran Felix Hernandez (#587), who is trying to recapture his Cy Young award-winning form after finishing out a big contract with Seattle.

Aside from King Felix, some notable players who saw major league time in 2019 are returning Braves Charlie Culberson and Rafael Ortega, veteran utility journeyman Yangervis Solarte, and rave-review-getter Peter O'Brien. Turning our gaze to members of MLB's top 100 prospects, outfielder Drew Waters leads the pack at #26, which is the same amount of career games he has at the Triple-A level (all coming in 2019). The above-mentioned Anderson is next in line at #37 - he also split his 2019 season between Double-A and Triple-A, with about the same ratio as Waters. The ninth overall pick in last year's draft, catcher Shea Langeliers, falls in at #70, even though his professional career consists of 54 games at the Single-A level.

UPDATE: One particular characteristic of minor league deals with invitations to spring training is that they tend to fly under the radar as far as MLB.com's official transaction log is concerned. For example, Atlanta's transaction log currently shows two such signings of 2019 big leaguers: returning Brave Josh Tomlin (on February 12th) and first baseman Yonder Alonso (on February 14th). However, I downloaded a version of that same transaction log on February 18th (my self-professed cutoff date), and those two transactions are nowhere to be found therein. It's an idiosyncrasy that I doubt matters to anyone but the most fastidious roster-obsessed folks like myself, but it occupies a fair amount of my attention every winter/spring.

Miami Marlins
Total NRI: 25
MLB 19: 6
Ranked: 1
Top 100: 1

This is not a stat I'm keeping track of throughout all teams, but a whopping 11 of Miami's 25 non-roster invitees were signed to minor league deals from outside the organization (rather than culled from existing minor league depth), showing how seriously the Marlins are about camp battles for roster spots. The only one ranked in MLB's top 800 fantasy players is former MVP candidate Matt Kemp, although his ranking of #754 shows that his chances of being a meaningful contributor are rather low. Other former MLB players include infielder Sean Rodriguez, catcher Ryan Lavarnway, former closer Brad Boxberger, and switch pitcher Pat Venditte. Their one top-100 prospect was another 2019 first round pick (fourth overall), outfielder JJ Bleday (ranked #28).

New York Mets
Total NRI: 23
MLB 19: 11
Ranked: 1
Top 100: 0

Of the teams we've looked at so far, the Mets trail only the Yankees and the Rays in total number of 2020 NRI's, but just under half of them saw action in the big leagues last year. The only one ranked by MLB is first baseman and hopeful outfielder Matt Adams (#613), fresh off a World Series winning 2019 campaign with the Nationals. His chances of making the roster will depend on both his aptitude in the grass and the injury status of one Yoenis Cespedes (ranked #493, but still seemingly not close to game action). Former White Sox outfielder Ryan Cordell, iron gloved infielder Eduardo Nunez (late of the Red Sox), and returning backup catcher candidate Rene Rivera make up the rest of the most notable 2019 major leaguers. While New York NL doesn't have a single NRI ranked within MLB's top 100 prospects, it's interesting to note that former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow is still trying to make the transition from the gridiron to the diamond.

Philadelphia Phillies
Total NRI: 28
MLB 19: 10
Ranked: 4
Top 100: 2

The Phillies NRI's with the top 2020 fantasy rankings from MLB.com are also the two players included in MLB.com's top 100 list. Based solely on the rankings, #34 overall prospect Spencer Howard (#317) projects as the third best starter on Philadelphia's staff (50 to 75 spots in front of rotation candidates Jake Arrieta, Vince Velasquez, and Zach Eflin), despite the fact that Howard has not pitched above Double-A. Likewise, #30 overall prospect Alec Bohm (#414) is ranked as the top third base option in the organization - assuming Scott Kingery (#206) beats out Adam Haseley (#556) for the center field job. Of course, that's not taking into account veterans Neil Walker (#733), Josh Harrison (#774), Logan Forsythe, Phil Gosselin, and Ronald Torreyes (all unranked), who could factor into the infield picture. Shifting to the bullpen, returning Phillie Blake Parker, starter-turned-lefty specialist Francisco Liriano, journeyman Anthony Swarzak, and bounceback candidates Bud Norris and Drew Storen could all potentially see some high-leverage innings.


Washington Nationals
Total NRI: 22
MLB 19: 7
Ranked: 1
Top 100: 1

The reigning world champions were the last team to publicly announce their non-roster invitees, publishing the list on February 12th, but there are a few notable names among them. The only one with a rank from MLB.com is backup catcher candidate Welington Castillo (#710), who has already technically been a member of three teams since the 2019 season ended, as the White Sox traded his contract to the Rangers, who then declined his option the next day. However, the Nats also brought in several options to bolster both their outfield mix (Mac Williamson, JB Shuck) and their bullpen (Javy Guerra, David Hernandez, Fernando Abad). Their lone appearance on the top 100 prospects list just barely made it as Luis (V.) Garcia (not to be confused with Luis (A.) Garcia, the established right handed reliever who is in camp with the Rangers) clocked in at #97 according to MLB.com.