Atlanta Braves have 27 non-roster spring training invitees
By John Buhler
The Atlanta Braves announced Thursday afternoon the 27 non-roster players that will receive invitations to spring training, including many top prospects.
Outside of the members already on the Atlanta Braves’ 2016 40-man roster, 27 non-roster invitees will join the Atlanta Braves in spring training at the ESPN World Wide Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Pitchers and catchers have to report on Friday, February 19th. Position players are to report on Wednesday, February 24th. First practice of spring training involving the whole team is on Thursday, February 25th.
The fourteen pitchers of the non-roster invitees are as follows: Aaron Blair, David Carpenter, Hunter Cervenka, Jhoulys Chacin, Chris Ellis, David Holmberg, Ryan Kelly, Kyle Kendrick, Sean Newcomb, Alexi Ogando, Lucas Sims, Alex Torres, Chris Volstad, and Madison Younginer.
Blair, Ellis, and Newcomb all came in trades made by general manager John Coppolella this offseason. They join Sims as four of the brightest stars in the young crop of arm talent in the Atlanta Braves’ farm system. Carpenter, Chacin, Kendrick, Ogando, and Torres have all signed Minor League deals with spring training invites this offseason as well.
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The five catchers that are non-roster invitees are as follows: Williams Astudillo, Matt Kennelly, Ryan Lavarnway, Joe Odom, and Braeden Schlehuber. Lavarnway served as A.J. Pierzynski‘s primary backup when former top catching prospect Christian Bethancourt became largely ineffective. Atlanta signed Tyler Flowers to backup the 39-year-old Pierzynski this season.
The six infielders that will receive spring training invites that aren’t on the 40-man roster are as follows: Ozzie Albies, Reid Brignac, Chase d’Arnaud, Nate Freiman, Rio Ruiz, and Dansby Swanson. Albies, Ruiz, and Swanson are all expected to become future starters in the Atlanta infield within the next few years at SunTrust Park. The two outfielders to round out the 27 non-roster invitees are Braxton Davidson and Matt Tiuasosopo.
It seems that the Atlanta Braves will have a healthy mix of both young, promising prospects that likely won’t see big league action this year and plenty of players that are vying for the 25th spot on the 2016 Atlanta roster.
Next: Atlanta Braves interested in bringing back Kelly Johnson
While we may have a ton of interest in top prospects like Dansby Swanson, Aaron Blair, Ozzie Albies, and Lucas Sims, perhaps we need to pay more attention to guys like David Carpenter, Jhoulys Chacin, Ryan Lavarnway, and Nate Freiman for the guys who may actually end up making the 25-man roster as part of the 2016 Opening Day roster for the Atlanta Braves.