Pirates Announce Non-Roster Invites For Spring Training
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Pittsburgh Pirates fans will get a good glimpse at the future at Spring Training.
The Pirates announced that they will have 14 non-roster invites at spring training, among them being right-handed pitchers Bubba Chander and Thomas Harrington, second baseman Termarr Johnson and shortstop Konnor Griffin. Chandler, Harrington, Johnson and Griffin were all in MLB Pipeline's top 100 rankings.
Here is the entire list of the Pirates' non-roster invites for Spring Training:
RHP Bubba Chandler
RHP Thomas Harrington
RHP Ryder Ryan
RHP Sean Sullivan
LHP Hunter Barco
LHP Ryan Borucki
LHP Anthony Solometo
C Omar Alfonzo
C Aaron McKeithan
INF Jack Brannigan
INF Konnor Griffin
INF Termarr Johnson
OF Matt Gorski
OF DJ Stewart
The following 14 players will attend Major League camp as non-roster invitees: pic.twitter.com/PxHIe8o7jC
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) February 4, 2025
Chandler is the obvious headliner of the group. With a strong showing, it's not far-fetched to believe the right-handed pitching prospect could become the Pirates' No. 5 starter. Chandler is MLB Pipeline's No. 15 prospect in baseball heading into the 2025 season.
Chandler spent last season pitching for Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis and went 10-7 with a 3.08 ERA in 26 appearances (23 starts) and struck out 148 batters over 119.2 innings pitched and held opposing hitters to a .189 batting average.
Bubba Chandler just DOMINATED his AAA debut 👀
— Christian✞ (@CWolfPGH) August 10, 2024
7.0IP, 2H, 0R, 0R, 1BB, 6SO’s
Took him just 85 pitches. Mind you…this was his Triple A DEBUT
What a start. 🔥
pic.twitter.com/HKwcfNm7OR
Griffin will be getting his first taste of pro ball in Spring Training. Pittsburgh took Griffin with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. The 6-foot-4 shortstop, who was ranked as the No. 43 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, was the first high school player taken in his draft class.
Harrington is another name to watch for the Pirates, as he rose to Triple-A Indianapolis last year and enjoyed a solid 2024 season. The right-handed pitching prospect went 7-3 with a 2.61 ERA in 22 appearances last season, 21 of which were starts. Harrington is MLB Pipeline's No. 80 prospect in baseball.
For a Pirates team in desperate need of a prospect to step up to help add some much-needed juice on offense, how Johnson performs will bear watching. Johnson, MLB Pipeline's No. 83 ranked prospect, slashed .237/.366/.386 with 15 home runs and 54 RBIs last season. The left-handed hitting infielder spent most of last season in High-A Greensboro.
Solometo (7), Barco (8), Brannigan (14) and Alfonzo (24) are in the Pirates' top 30 ranked prospects by MLB Pipeline.
