San Francisco Giants Announce 2016 Non-Roster Invitees

With pitchers and catchers reporting in less than a month, the San Francisco Giants have announced their list of 21 non-roster invitees.

Spring Training is nearly upon us, and with about three weeks until pitchers and catchers report, the San Francisco Giants released their list of non-roster invitees, consisting of 21 players, combining youth and enthusiasm with age and treachery.

The two biggest headliners of the list are right-handed starting pitcher Tyler Beede and shortstop Christian Arroyo, considered to be the team’s top pitching and hitting prospect, respectively. Beede, the Giants’ 2014 first-round pick, finished last season with the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels. This will be his first big league camp. Arroyo, the team’s 2013 first-round pick, finished 2015 with the Advanced-A San Jose Giants, and will be attending his second big league camp.

Joining Beede as pitching prospects with Spring Training invites are Sam Coonrod and Chase Johnson. Coonrod, a fifth-round pick in 2014, spent all of last season with the Single-A Augusta GreenJackets, where he emerged as a legitimate prospect, averaging over a strikeout per inning over 23 games, including 22 starts. Johnson became a popular name during a Tim Hudson rehab start last season, when he struck out 14 batters in six relief innings for San Jose. He ended the season with Richmond. For both, it will be their first big league camp.

More from San Francisco Giants

• Thank you SF Giants for a fun, wild, surprising 2020 season
• SF Giants lose in heartbreaking fashion and miss 2020 MLB playoffs
• SF Giants: Mike Yastrzemski named 2020 Willie Mac Award recipient
• SF Giants: Chadwick Tromp placed on IL with shoulder strain
• SF Giants: Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners postponed

Veteran pitchers Vin Mazzaro, Braulio Lara, Ricky Romero, and Albert Suarez will join the youngsters. Mazzaro and Romero both have previous Major League experience. Mazzaro has pitched seven seasons for four different teams, including the Giants’ rivals across the Bay, the Oakland Athletics. Romero pitched five years with the Blue Jays before injuries derailed a once-promising career, and he will now enter his second season with the Giants’ organization. He appeared in four games for the Rookie League Arizona Giants last season.

Lara will be attending his second camp with the Giants, as he was also a non-roster invitee in 2015. The 26-year-old left-hander spent all of 2015 in the Giants’ organization, split between Double-A Richmond and the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. Suarez (not to be confused with left-handed prospect Andrew Suarez) is a 26-year-old right-hander who has spent time in the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Angels’ organizations. He has been a professional for eight years, but has never managed to play above Double-A.

Among the four non-roster catchers the Giants invited, Aramis Garcia would be the most familiar name to prospect hounds. Garcia was in camp with the big league squad last season, and spent 2015 split between Single-A and Advanced-A. The 23-year-old has been ranked the 10th-best catching prospect in the minor leagues. He will be joined by 23-year-old Matt Winn, a 14th-round draft pick in 2015, and 24-year-old Ty Ross, who was an NRI last season as well.

More from Golden Gate Sports

• Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
• 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
• Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
• 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
• 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve

Veteran catcher George Kottaras will become the oldest catcher in Giants’ camp at 32 years old, bringing with him an abundance of knowledge. Kottaras has played seven seasons in the big leagues for seven different teams, and has caught everyone from Adam Wainwright to Tim Wakefield and R.A. Dickey.

Position players Kyle Blanks (corner outfield and first base), Grant Green (utility), Hak-Ju Lee (shortstop), Ramiro Pena (infield), and Gorkys Hernandez (outfield) are all former big leaguers the Giants signed to minor league contracts this offseason, and each was extended an invite to Spring Training. Ryan Lollis, an outfielder who made his Major League debut with the Giants in 2015, will also be invited to camp. Junior Arias, a seven-year minor league veteran of the Cincinnati Reds’ farm system, was invited as well. He has played center field, shortstop, and third base with regularity in the minor leagues, but has never played above Advanced-A.

Next: An Argument for the DH in the NL

Rounding out the list are prospects Ryder Jones and Rando Moreno. The 21-year-old Jones was a second-round pick in 2013, and has become a solid third base prospect. After spending 2015 with Advanced-A San Jose, Jones will be attending his first big league camp this year. Moreno, a 23-year-old middle infielder, spent all of 2015 in Double-A, and will also be attending his first big league camp.