ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—The Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to terms with right-handed pitchers Stetson Allie, Louis Head, Joey Krehbiel and Hunter Strickland and left-handed pitcher Brian Moran on minor league contracts with invitations to major league spring training. The Rays have also invited 13 of their minor league players to major league spring training: right-handed pitchers Shane Baz and Joe Ryan, catchers Chris Betts, Blake Hunt and René Pinto, infielders Xavier Edwards, Tristan Gray and Greg Jones, infielder/outfielder Miles Mastrobuoni, and outfielders Ryan Boldt, Moisés Gómez, Nathan Lukes and Garrett Whitley. These invites increase the spring training roster to 73 players.

Allie, 29, was signed as a minor league free agent by the Boston Red Sox last February but was not part of their 60-man player pool for the 2020 season. He split the 2019 season between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, going 1-1 with a 8.54 ERA (39-IP, 37-ER) in 41 appearances. Over his minor league pitching career, he is 8-5 with a 6.52 ERA (118.2-IP, 86-ER) in 115 appearances (eight starts). He was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second round of the 2010 Amateur Draft out of Saint Edward (Ohio) High School. He was drafted as a pitcher, converted to a position player in 2012 and returned to pitching midway through the 2017 season.

Baz (BOZ), 21, was part of the Rays 60-man player pool for the 2020 season and spent the summer at the alternate training site in Port Charlotte, Fla. Following the season, he was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 6 prospect in the Rays system. He spent the 2019 season with Class-A Bowling Green and went 3-2 with a 2.99 ERA (81.1-IP, 27-ER) in 17 starts. He pitched for the Salt River Rafters in the Arizona Fall League and was named to the AFL Rising Stars Game. He was acquired by the Rays as the player to be named from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the July 31, 2018 trade involving Chris Archer. He was selected in the first round (12th overall) of the 2017 Amateur Draft out of Concordia Luthern (Texas) High School.

Betts, 23, was not part of the Rays 60-man player pool for the 2020 season but played in the Instructional League in October. He spent the 2019 season with Bowling Green, batting .210/.333/.400 (83-for-395) with 19 home runs and 73 RBI in 110 games. He ranked second in the Midwest League in both home runs and RBI and was named to the midseason and postseason All-Star teams. In four minor league seasons, he is a .219/335/.389 (170-for-776) hitter with 29 home runs and 129 RBI in 224 games. He was selected in the second round of the 2015 Amateur Draft out of Wilson (Calif.) High School.

Boldt, 26, was not part of the Rays 60-man player pool for the 2020 season but played in the Instructional League in October. He missed the entire 2019 season due to a right elbow strain. He spent 2018 with Double-A Montgomery, where he hit .274/.348/.461 (66-for-241) with a career-high seven home runs. He was named to the Southern League midseason All-Star Team before suffering a season-ending left foot fracture. He was selected in the second round of the 2016 Amateur Draft out of University of Nebraska.

Edwards (EX-avier), 21, was added to the Rays 60-man player pool for the 2020 season on August 14 and spent the rest of the summer at the alternate training site in Port Charlotte, Fla. He split the 2019 season between Class-A Fort Wayne and Class-A Lake Elsinore in the San Diego Padres organization, batting .322/.375/.396 (162-for-503) with 18 doubles, eight triples, one home run, 43 RBI and 34 stolen bases in 123 games. He was named to both the Midwest League midseason and postseason All-Star teams, led Padres minor leaguers in hits and tied for second in stolen bases. He was acquired by the Rays from the Padres in the five-player trade involving Tommy Pham on December 6, 2019. He was selected by the Padres in the first round (38th overall) of the 2018 Amateur Draft out of North Broward Prep in Coconut Creek, Fla. 

Gómez, 22, was not part of the Rays 60-man player pool for the 2020 season but played in the Instructional League in October. He was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 22 prospect in the Rays system following the season and the Best Power Hitter in the organization for a second consecutive year. He spent the 2019 season with Class-A Charlotte and hit .220/.297/.402 (94-for-428) with 16 home runs and 66 RBI, which ranked third in the Florida State League and third among Rays minor leaguers. He was signed by the Rays as an international free agent on April 28, 2015.

Gray, 23, was not part of the Rays 60-man player pool for the 2020 season but played in the Instructional League in October. He was reassigned from major league spring training to minor league camp on March 8. In 2019, he hit .225/.332/.409 (94-for-418) with a career-high 17 home runs and 64 RBI in 122 games for Montgomery. His 17 homers tied for fifth among Rays minor leaguers and tied for eighth in the Southern League, and he ranked among the organization’s and Southern League’s Top 10 with 64 RBI and 61 walks. He was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates on February 22, 2018 as part of the Corey Dickerson trade. He was selected by the Pirates in the 13th round of the 2017 Amateur Draft out of Rice University.

Head, 30, was signed as a minor league free agent by the Seattle Mariners in February 2020 but released on May 27. He spent the 2019 season in the Dodgers organization and made 15 appearances between Tulsa and Oklahoma City and seven appearances (four starts) on a rehab assignment (left hamstring strain) in the Arizona League. He is 19-19 with a 3.67 ERA (410-IP, 167-ER) in 294 appearances (four starts) over parts of eight minor league seasons. He was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 18th round of the 2012 Amateur Draft out of Texas State University.

Hunt, 22, was added to the Padres 60-man player pool for the 2020 season on September 3. He did not appear in the majors but played in the Instructional League in October. He was acquired by the Rays in a five-player trade involving Blake Snell on December 29, 2020. He spent the 2019 season with Fort Wayne, batting .255 (85-for-333) with five home runs and 39 RBI in 89 games. He was tabbed by Baseball America as the Best Defensive Catcher in the Padres system following the 2019 season. He is a career .258 (169-for-656) hitter with 10 home runs and 83 RBI over parts of three minor league seasons. He was a Competitive Balance Round B selection of the Padres in the 2017 Amateur Draft out of Mater Dei (Calif.) High School.

Jones, 22, was added to the Rays 60-man player pool for the 2020 season on September 1 and spent time at the alternate training site in Port Charlotte, Fla. Following the season, he was ranked by Baseball America as the Best Athlete in the organization for a second consecutive year. In 2019, he was named Most Valuable Player for Short-A Hudson Valley by the Rays Baseball Operations department in his first professional season. He hit .335/.413/.461 (64-for-191) with 13 doubles, four triples, one home run, 24 RBI and 19 stolen bases in 48 games, leading Rays minor leaguers in avg. (min. 150 AB). He was selected in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2019 Amateur Draft out of University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Krehbiel (KRAY-bull), 28, was signed as a minor league free agent by the Minnesota Twins last January but was not part of their 60-man player pool for the 2020 season. He spent the 2019 season with Triple-A Reno in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, going 1-4 with a 7.69 ERA (64.1-IP, 55-ER) in 51 appearances. In 2018, he made two scoreless appearances during a July 2-4 stint with the Diamondbacks, his first career major league action. He is 16-25 with a 4.07 ERA (449-IP, 203-ER) in 371 appearances (four starts) over nine minor league seasons. He was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 12th round of the 2011 Amateur Draft out of Seminole (Fla.) High School, where he was teammates with Brett Phillips.

Lukes (LOO-kis), 26, was not part of the Rays 60-man player pool for the 2020 season. In 2019, he advanced to Durham for the first time and spent the entire season with the Bulls, making starts at all three outfield positions (50-CF, 24-RF, 1-LF) and batting .219/.294/.319 (57-for-260) with eight doubles, four home runs and 31 RBI in 91 games. He was acquired by the Rays from the Indians in the Brandon Guyer trade on August 1, 2016. He was selected by the Indians in the seventh round of the 2015 Amateur Draft out of Sacramento State University.

Mastrobuoni (mass-troh-BOH-nee), 24, was not part of the Rays 60-man player pool for the 2020 season. He was reassigned from major league spring training to minor league camp on March 11. He spent most of the 2019 season with Montgomery, with the exception of a four-day stint with Durham. He hit .299/.367/.388 (114-for-381) with four home runs and 34 RBI in 107 games with the Biscuits and ranked fifth in the Southern League in avg. He was named to the Southern League midseason and postseason All-Star teams, the latter as the league’s “Best Utility Player.” He made starts at five different positions for the Biscuits: left field (34), right field (27), second base (23), center field (15) and third base (three). He was selected in the 14th round of the 2016 Amateur Draft out of the University of Nevada.

Moran, 32, began last season with the Toronto Blue Jays, including his first career Opening Day roster, and was claimed off waivers by the Miami Marlins on August 2. Between the two organizations, he went 1-0 with a 9.64 ERA (4.2-IP, 5-ER) in seven appearances. He was placed on the 10-day injured list (right knee patella tendinitis) on August 17 and transferred to the 45-day injured list on August 22, ending his season. He has spent parts of the last two seasons in the majors, going 2-0 with a 6.55 ERA (11.0-IP, 8-ER) in 17 appearances. He was selected by the Mariners in the seventh round of the 2009 Amateur Draft out of the University of North Carolina.

Pinto, 24, was part of the Rays 60-man player pool for the 2020 season and spent the summer at the alternate training site in Port Carlotte, Fla. He appeared in 77 games with Montgomery in 2019, batting .235/.303/.354 (61-for-260) with five home runs and 30 RBI, including a .283 avg. (17-for-60) with eight doubles and 24 RBI with runners in scoring position. He has thrown out 40.3 pct. (125 of 310) of attempted base stealers during his minor league career, including 45.5 pct. (45 of 99) over the 2018-19 seasons. He was signed by the Rays as an international free agent on October 1, 2013.

Ryan, 23, was part of the Rays 60-man player pool for the 2020 season and spent the summer at the alternate training site in Port Charlotte, Fla. He was named the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year by the Rays Baseball Operations department in 2019, advancing to Montgomery in his first full professional season. He began the season with Bowling Green, was promoted to Charlotte on May 13 and to Montgomery on August 12. He went 9-4 with a 1.96 ERA (123.2-IP, 27-ER) and 183 strikeouts in 24 appearances (22 starts) between the three levels. His 183 strikeouts ranked second in the minors and ranked third all-time for a Rays minor leaguer behind Matt Moore in 2011 (210) and 2010 (208). He enters the 2021 season ranked by Baseball America as the No. 12 prospect in the Rays system. He was selected in the seventh round of the 2018 Amateur Draft out of California State University Stanislaus.

Strickland, 32, made four appearances over two stints with the New York Mets last season, allowing three earned runs in 3.1 innings. He made his fifth straight Opening Day roster but was designated for assignment on July 30 and August 31, each time accepting an outright assignment to the alternate training site. He has spent parts of the last seven seasons in the majors and is 16-16 with a 3.23 ERA (253.2-IP, 91-ER) in 285 career appearances. He has made 13 career appearances in the postseason and won the World Series with the San Francisco Giants in 2014 and Washington Nationals in 2019. He was selected by the Red Sox in the 18th round of the 2007 Amateur Draft out of Pike County (Ga.) High School.

Whitley, 23, was not part of the Rays 60-man player pool for the 2020 season but played in the Instructional League in October. He spent the 2019 season with Charlotte, batting .226/.339/.412 (84-for-371) with 25 doubles, seven triples, 10 home runs and 40 RBI. He ranked third in the Florida State League with 66 walks and tied for fifth with 42 extra-base hits. He was selected in the first round (13th overall) in the 2015 Amateur Draft out of Niskayuna (N.Y.) High School.