Mets Top Prospects Among Latest Spring Training Invites
The New York Mets announced more non-roster invitees to Major League spring training on Thursday, potentially finalizing the list of players that will join them in Port St. Lucie to start camp later this month.
Pitchers and catchers are set to report on Feb. 14, while the first full-squad workout will take place on Feb. 19.
This will be the first spring training for new Mets management, which includes president of baseball operations David Stearns and manager Carlos Mendoza.
Non-roster invitees are not on the Mets’ 40-man roster. Those players are automatically invited to MLB spring training. The non-roster invitees for the Mets are players that have either signed minor-league contracts, which came with MLB invites, or prospects within their own system that they want to get MLB coaching before minor league spring training starts in March.
Per MLB.com, the latest invitees included position players like outfielder Drew Gilbert, catcher Tomás Nido, catcher Kevin Parada, catcher Hayden Senger and infielder Jett Williams. On the pitching side, the Mets invited right-handers Dominic Hamel, Eric Orze, Christian Scott and Mike Vasil, along with left-hander Nate Lavender.
Gilbert, Parada, Williams, Hameil and Vasil are among the Mets’ most interesting prospects.
The Mets had previously signed players to minor-league deals with MLB spring training invitations. Those players included pitchers Kyle Crick, Cam Robinson, Yacksel Rios, Chad Smith, Cole Sulser and Danny Young.
That list also included catcher Austin Allen, infielders Rylan Bannon, José Iglesias and Yolmer Sánchez, and outfielder Taylor Kohlwey and Trayce Thompson.
The Mets will open the home portion of their spring training schedule on Feb. 24 against St. Louis.
