MIAMI -- The Marlins have yet to make any major moves with their big league roster, but they are quietly adding organizational depth with a series of non-roster signings.
Recently, the club came to terms with infielder Johnny Giavotella, catcher John Holaday and right-hander Drew Rucinski to Minor League deals with Spring Training invitations. The Marlins now have eight non-roster signings.
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All three have played in the big leagues and will compete for backup positions in Spring Training. If they don't make the Opening Day roster, they're candidates to start off at Triple-A New Orleans.
Giavotella was with the Orioles in 2017, and he was mostly used at second base, appearing in seven games. At Triple-A Norfolk, the 5-foot-8, 185-pounder batted .306/.368/.441 with five home runs and 45 RBIs in 83 games. A second-round pick of the Royals in 2008, the 30-year-old Giavotella has 360 games of MLB experience with a .255 batting average, 14 home runs and 125 RBIs.
Holaday played in 13 games for the Tigers last year, batting .241. At Triple-A Toledo, the 30-year-old hit .269 with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs. The Marlins don't have much catching depth, and Holaday is a option to start off at New Orleans while providing big league experience if needed.
Rucinski is a 28-year-old right-hander who threw 4 1/3 innings of relief for the Twins last season. In 63 innings at Triple-A Rochester, he had a 2.57 ERA, striking out 57 and walking 10.
Before signing Rucinski, Holaday and Giavotella, the Marlins came to terms with infielder Yadiel Rivera and outfielder J.B. Shuck to Minor League deals with Spring Training invitations.
Rounding out the eight non-roster invitees are outfielder Isaac Galloway, infielder Peter Mooney and catcher Rodrigo Vigil. All three were with the Marlins last year. Galloway, 28, batted .327 with 10 home runs and 29 RBIs across four levels of the Minors, including New Orleans, last year.
Mooney, who recently played in the Arizona Fall League, batted .213 in 116 games at New Orleans. Vigil played in 65 Minor League games last year between Class A Advanced Jupiter and Double-A Jacksonville, and had a slash line of .268/.315/.309 with 15 RBIs.