Mountcastle among 19 O's Spring Training NRIs

11 hurlers added to camp, some to compete for rotation spot

February 1st, 2018

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles announced on Thursday that they'd made 19 non-roster invitations for this year's Major League Spring Training, with the club slated to have 35 pitchers in camp later this month in Sarasota, Fla.
Thursday's list has 11 pitchers (five lefties), five infielders, two outfielders and one catcher, with prospects Ryan Mountcastle (third base), DJ Stewart (outfield) and Cedric Mullins (outfield) all on the list. Mountcastle was recently named one of MLB Pipeline's Top 10 prospects at his position (No. 7) and is ranked as the O's third-best prospect.
Audry Perez is the lone catcher on the non-roster list, with utility players including Garabez Rosa, , and . The group will vie to replace as the utility man on the bench. Rosa's name should be familiar to O's Minor League fans as he was named the Eastern League's Most Valuable Player in 2017. He is the all-time games-played leader at Double-A Bowie.
On the pitching side of things, lefty -- who is expected to be in the mix for a rotation and bullpen spot -- will be in big league camp along with lefties , , Josh Edgin and .

The right-handers are , -- who was drafted by the O's in 2008 and pitched in seven games for the Rays in 2016 -- Perci Garner, , Tim Melville and Asher Wojciechowski.
The Orioles are expected to continue to add players, as they currently have just two starters with rotation spots -- and -- heading into camp.
Pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 13, with the first workout the next day. The first full-squad workout will be on Feb. 19.