BOSTON -- The Red Sox added eight non-roster invitees to their Spring Training roster on Wednesday, including veterans Allen Craig and Brennan Boesch and No. 9 prospect Sam Travis.
It has been a fast climb for Travis, who was selected in the second round of the 2014 Draft out of Indiana University and spent the second half of last season with Double-A Portland.
Some think that Travis, a right-handed hitter, could emerge into Boston's first baseman of the future.
In 559 plate appearances in his first full pro season, Travis hit .307 with nine homers, 78 RBIs and an .833 OPS. Travis continued his development in the Arizona Fall League, posting a .344 average in 23 games with the Scottsdale Scorpions.
Craig has been taken off Boston's 40-man roster twice since the club acquired him from the Cardinals on July 31, 2014, and is still trying to regain the stroke that once made him one of the most productive hitters in the National League.
Boesch, 31, is a player that Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is familiar with from their time together in Detroit.
The left-handed-hitting Boesch was drafted by Dombrowski's Tigers in 2006 and played regularly for Detroit from 2010-12, hitting .259 with a .729 OPS. However, Boesch has fallen off the radar the past two years, getting 75 at-bats with the Angels in 2014 and 89 for the Reds last year.
Utility infielder Josh Rutledge and catcher Sandy Leon, who both spent time with the Red Sox last season, were also invited to camp.
Pitchers Roman Mendez, Kyle Martin and Danny Rosenbaum were the other players who received invites on Wednesday. In all, the Red Sox have 14 non-roster invitees.