Previewing the Yankees’ potential non-roster invitees to Spring Training 2025

In just two weeks and one day, Yankees’ pitchers and catchers will report to Tampa and begin the very long journey that is the 2025 baseball season. Position players will follow a few days later. The first Grapefruit League game is only three weeks and four days away. It’s so close! The offseason really flies by when you go to the World Series. Too bad the Yankees didn’t win it. Maybe this year.

“It’s a great privilege to show up for work every day and be surrounded by so many determined and talented players, coaches, and staff members,” Aaron Boone said after his contract option was picked up in November. “... I’m already looking forward to reporting for Spring Training in Tampa and working tirelessly to return the Yankees to the postseason to compete for a world championship.”

In a week or two the Yankees will officially announce their non-roster invitees to Spring Training. Those are players on minor league contracts who will get to hobnob with Gerrit Cole, Aaron Judge, and all the other big leaguers in Major League camp. Basically, if the Yankees think you can help the team this season, you’ll be in the big league camp, and get a chance to show ‘em what you can do.

Some NRIs are top prospects. Others are okay prospects. Many are journeyman types trying to extend their careers. Nick Burdi, Ben Rice, Dennis Santana, and Will Warren were all NRIs last spring and they all made their way to the big leagues later in the season (Burdi made the Opening Day roster). NRIs are not sexy, but they are necessary and important depth.

With that in mind, let’s dig into who the Yankees could bring to camp as an NRI this spring. This is one of my favorite posts of the year because it means baseball is getting close, and soon we’ll be able to talk about real live games rather than debate scrap heap infielders and wonder whether the 43rd ranked free agent will take a one-year prove yourself contract.

Let’s go through the various positional groups and try to figure out who the Yankees will bring to camp this spring. Sound good? As a reminder, players on the 40-man roster will be in Major League Spring Training automatically. We’re here to talk about the non-40-man guys.

Catchers

40-man roster players (4): JC Escarra, Ben Rice, Jesus Rodriguez, Austin Wells

That’s four catchers on the 40-man but it’s really more like one because Escarra and Rodriguez are utility guys who can catch more than full-time catchers, and Rice has played more first base (100 games) than catcher (69 games) the last two years. Wells is the only one of those four players who is a full-time catcher. The others have position flexibility, which is nice, but catching everyday is not their thing.

The Yankees will bring a lot of catchers to Spring Training because they are a necessity. All those bullpen sessions won’t catch themselves. And given the backup catcher situation (i.e. the Yankees don’t really have one), the catching situation figures to be a little extra competitive this spring, and thus worth giving more of our attention. Wells is the undisputed starter. The No. 2 guy is pretty important too.

Rafael Flores, my Minor League Player of the Year, is the top catcher prospect in the system, and he’s another half-time catcher/half-time first base type. With Carlos Narváez traded, Flores is now the favorite to become the long-term backup catcher, a position the Yankees tend to go homegrown (Kyle Higashioka, Austin Romine, etc.). Flores isn’t a lock to be the next long-term backup. Just the most likely candidate.

Edgleen Perez and Engelth Urena, the other notable catching prospects in the system, are rookie ball kids who don’t belong in big league camp. Put them behind the plate to catch someone like Luis Gil or Clarke Schmidt, even just in a bullpen session, and they’ll think they came from another planet. Perez and Urena have never caught stuff like that. It’s not their time yet. Minor league camp is where they belong.

NRI prediction: Flores, Antonio Gomez, Alex Jackson, one catcher TBD. The minor league deal* the Reds gave Jackson presumably included an invite to big league Spring Training. Flores punished High-A and Double-A last year and will move up to Triple-A this year, either right away or a few weeks into the season. That puts him on the doorstep of the big leagues, so yes, get that guy in big league camp.

* Jackson was removed from the 40-man roster on the official site. He was there by mistake and that was corrected at some point earlier this month.

Gomez’s prospect stock has faded to close to nothing, but he’s a body who can catch, which is what the Yankees need in February. He’ll fill the NRI spot that went to Josh Breaux, Anthony Seigler, and guys like that the last few years. The fringe prospect who’s been in the system a while, knows many of the pitchers who will be in camp, and can catch bullpen sessions and the late innings of exhibition games.

I expect the Yankees to add a catcher before camp opens, hence the TBD spot. The Yankees did not sign Luis Torrens to a minor league contract until Jan. 25th last year (the day after my non-roster preview), so there’s still time to bring in a NRI catcher with big league time. I expect it to happen. I have a hard time believing Jackson will be the No. 2 catcher in terms of MLB experience in camp. Or at least I hope he’s not.

The Yankees can sometimes have trouble landing quality bench guys and NRIs because they usually have established players all over the field. The path to regular playing time isn’t always clear. That isn’t the case behind the plate. The backup catcher job is wide open. A veteran like, say, Yan Gomes might see this as his best shot to stay in the league another year. The Yankees could appeal to catchers still seeking a job.

Also, the Yankees aren’t afraid to change their catching mix at the end of Spring Training. They traded for Jose Trevino six days before Opening Day in 2022, and Chris Stewart two days before Opening Day in 2012. Maybe they do that again this year. I wonder about Jason Delay, a good framer/blocker stuck behind younger post-hype players Joey Bart, Henry Davis, and Endy Rodriguez with the Pirates. Hmmm.

First basemen

40-man roster players (2): Paul Goldschmidt, DJ LeMahieu

Escarra, Rice, and Rodriguez will get first base reps in Spring Training as well. LeMahieu’s range was so diminished last season that I consider him a first basemen first, a third basemen second, and a second basemen not at all. He hasn’t played second base since July 6th, 2023, and that includes last spring. I’m sure he’ll play some third in Spring Training, but yeah, LeMahieu’s a first baseman first and foremost now.

NRI prediction: TJ Rumfield, Dom Smith. Smith signed a minor league deal a few weeks ago and he will surely be in big league camp. I have Flores in with the non-roster catchers and he can play first base too. Rumfield was an NRI last year and had a good (but not great) season in Triple-A. He’s a safe bet to be back in camp this year. The Yankees will have more than enough bodies available to play the 3.

Infielders

40-man roster players (5): Oswaldo Cabrera, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Oswald Peraza, Jorbit Vivas, Anthony Volpe

It is a near certainty the Yankees will bring in a second or third baseman before the start of Spring Training. It will be inexcusable if they don’t. It could even be a 40-man roster player too. At minimum, they need a veteran NRI to compete with Peraza (and Cabrera and Vivas?) and force him to win a starting job rather than have it handed to him. An infielder is coming. I’m sure of it.

As for the prospects, George Lombard Jr. is 19. Roderick Arias turned 20 not too long ago. Ditto Enmanuel Tejeda. They’ll make Grapefruit League cameos as the minor league call-up du jour, but won’t be official NRIs. Minor league camp is the appropriate place for them at this point in their careers. Arias, Lombard, and Tejeda are the best the farm system has to offer on the infield (by a lot).

The Yankees traded Caleb Durbin, their best near-MLB-ready infield prospect, to get Devin Williams a few weeks ago. Tyler Hardman and Alex Vargas played most of 2024 at Double-A, though both were quite bad, and are not the kinda guys who get a big league camp invite. If needed, they can cross the street and come over from minor league camp to play a few Grapefruit League innings now and then. No more than that.

NRI prediction: Pablo Reyes, Andrew Velazquez, at least one infielder TBD. Reyes and Velazquez signed minor league contracts earlier this winter and we can safely assume they’ll be in big league camp. Escarra (third base) and Rodriguez (second and third) have experience at non-first base infield positions, so they’ll take turns on the dirt too. There aren’t any other NRI worthy infield prospects in the system.

Like I said, it is highly likely the Yankees will bring in another infielder before Spring Training begins, and it’s possible that will be a 40-man roster player, not simply an NRI. Even if it is a 40-man player, it feels like the Yankees need another Triple-A infielder for depth purposes. I mentioned Livan Soto as a waiver claim candidate recently, though that didn’t happen. The Yankees could use someone like that though.

Outfielders

40-man roster players (5): Cody Bellinger, Jasson Domínguez, Trent Grisham, Aaron Judge, Everson Pereira

Not much mystery in the outfield. Cabrera, Escarra, and Rodriguez also have outfield experience and will see at least a little time there during Grapefruit League play. Maybe Chisholm too? The Yankees need him on the infield, they’re pretty well set in the outfield, but if you need him there in the regular season, you’d rather it not be the first time all year Jazz plays the outfield. A few innings in March won’t hurt anyone.

Domínguez is the best prospect in the system by a mile, and he’ll be in big league camp automatically as a 40-man roster player. A starting outfield spot is his to lose. I’m not sure Spencer Jones is the second best prospect in the system, but he is the second best outfield prospect. Pereira might be third? After him, it’s rookie ballers like Brando Mayea and Francisco Viloria. Kids who don’t belong in big league camp.

NRI prediction: Jones, Brennen Davis, Cam Eden, Duke Ellis, Ismael Munguia. The Yankees signed Davis* and Munguia to minor league deals a few weeks ago and I assume a Spring Training invite is part of the package. Eden and Ellis, two pinch-running specialists, are still in the organization after being claimed on waivers and outrighted off the 40-man roster last year. We’ll see them in camp.

(Actually, now that I look it up, Eden was a cash trade with the Blue Jays, not a waiver claim. Whatever.)

Jones struck out an awful lot in Double-A last season (36.8%!), though he performed well enough overall (.259/.335/.452 and 124 wRC+), and “top prospect who has played a full year in Double-A” is prime NRI fodder. Also, Jones was in camp as an NRI last year. The Yankees aren’t gonna bring him to big league camp in 2024 and then not bring him to big league camp in 2025, you know?

Five 40-man players plus five NRIs equals 10 outfielders in camp. Add in Cabrera, Escarra, Reyes, Rodriguez, and Velazquez, and that’s 15 dudes who will see time in the outfield. Three outfielders start the game and three replace them in the middle innings, and it’s not often veterans play back-to-back days the first few weeks of Spring Training. Lots of outfield-capable players are a must.

* At the time, I noted the Davis signing had not yet shown up on the official site like the other minor league contract signings. It’s there now though. The Davis signing is done.

Starting pitchers

40-man roster players (9): JT Brubaker, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Luis Gil, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, Marcus Stroman, Will Warren, Allan Winans

Do you know how many different pitchers started a game for the Yankees last Spring Training? 12. They used 12 different starters in 33 exhibition games. Split squad games and Spring Training funkiness (veterans like Cole don’t go on the road and pitch in intrasquad games rather than travel, relievers start games so they can get their work in and go home, etc.) means a lot of different guys get the ball.

Brubaker will likely work out of the bullpen this year (fingers crossed) but of course the Yankees will stretch him out to start in Spring Training. It’s easier to go from starter to reliever at the end of camp than the other way around. Luke Weaver was a starter last spring, remember? Also, will Stroman be a Yankee come Spring Training? I think he’s getting traded before Opening Day, though there’s no need to rush into anything.

The farm system is pitcher heavy. I haven’t finalized my Top 30 Prospects list yet, though it looks like it’ll include 18-20 pitchers. Baseball America has 17 pitchers among their top 30 Yankees prospects in their 2025 Prospect Handbook, which was filed before Durbin got traded. This is good, you need lots of pitchers, and pitching is the Yankees’ development strength. Still, it’s striking just how pitcher heavy the system is.

The Yankees used their first seven 2024 draft picks on pitchers. Typically though, they do not bring their most recent draftees to big league camp. Wells is the last Yankees’ first rounder to go to big league camp the year after being drafted. The last before him was James Kaprielian in 2016. That is my way of saying I do not expect Ben Hess, Bryce Cunningham, Thatcher Hurd, et al to get invites to Spring Training.

And that’s fine. The Yankees have plenty of other interesting pitching prospects they can bring to camp. Chase Hampton, assuming he’s healthy, should be back after being an NRI last year. The Yankees love Brock Selvidge, particularly his demeanor and makeup, and he pitched well in Double-A last year before getting hurt. Pitch well in Double-A and you’re knocking on the door of the big leagues. 

The last thing I want to add here is, again, the lower minors kids and rookie ballers won’t be in big league camp, and don’t get mad about it. Carlos Lagrange, Henry Lalane, Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, etc. None of them have sniffed Double-A yet, and Lagrange and Lalane are coming off season interrupted by injuries. There are only so many innings to go around. Minor league camp is the best place for them.

NRI prediction: Hampton, Selvidge, Brandon Leibrandt, Zach Messinger. Leibrandt, Charlie’s son, got a minor league deal a few weeks ago and presumably an invite to big league camp. He’s a lefty, and given the current lefty reliever depth chart (i.e. the Yankees don’t have one), I don’t think we can rule him out of the bullpen mix. Leibrandt’s been a starter his entire career though, so in with the starters he goes.

Hampton missed the start of last season with a flexor injury and the end of last season with a groin injury. As long as he’s healthy, he’ll be in big league camp. Same with Selvidge, who was shut down with a biceps injury last July and did not pitch again the rest of the season. Hampton and Selvidge are the Yankees’ best close-to-MLB pitching prospects not on the 40-man. We might see them in the Bronx in 2025, which means we’ll see them in Tampa in February and March.

That also applies to Messinger. I was surprised he was not picked in the Rule 5 Draft, which doesn’t necessarily mean teams don’t like him. It just means they don’t think they can keep him on their MLB roster all year. Messinger threw 150 Minor League Pitcher of the Year caliber innings in Double-A in 2024. Do that, and you’re usually in big league camp the next year. He could be an up/down guy as soon as this year.

Righty relievers

40-man roster players (13): Michael Arias, Clayton Beeter, Roansy Contreras, Jake Cousins, Fernando Cruz, Yerry De Los Santos, Scott Effross, Yoendrys Gómez, Ian Hamilton, Mark Leiter Jr., Jonathan Loáisiga, Luke Weaver, Devin Williams

Loáisiga is still rehabbing from last April’s UCL surgery (Matt Blake said they’re targeting late April or May for his return), so it’s 12 healthy righty relievers on the 40-man. Gómez is out of options and has to pass through waivers to go to Triple-A. I’m not sure he’ll make it through Spring Training with the Yankees. He has been a starter just about his entire career and will probably work multiple innings this spring, both to get stretched out and to showcase him for potential trade partners.

The Yankees do have some legit reliever-only prospects who are reasonably close to the big leagues. Alex Mauricio is a pitch data darling who threw 49 effective innings in Triple-A last year. Eric Reyzelman is finally healthy after being a fifth round pick in 2020. He struck out 37 in 23.1 Double-A innings last season and had two pitches with 40% whiff rates (fastball and slider). Mauricio and Reyzelman have big league stuff and there is a chance we see both in the Bronx this year. That makes them prime NRI candidates.

NRI prediction: Mauricio, Reyzelman, Colten Brewer, Geoff Hartlieb, Wilking Rodríguez. Brewer, Hartlieb, and Rodriguez are veteran journeymen on minor league contracts. If the Yankees want another NRI righty, it could be McKinley Moore. He was a waiver claim last year and later outrighted off the 40-man roster. He threw 21.1 innings around a knee injury in 2024. Moore got some big league time with the Phillies in 2023, and previous MLB experience typically a player in line for an NRI.

We’re at 31 total pitchers (40-man and non-roster) and we haven’t gotten to the lefty relievers yet. It’s a lot of pitchers, but remember, guys will get hurt, guys will opt out of their minor league deals, etc. Last year 54 pitchers – 54! – appeared in a Grapefruit League game for the Yankees. Many were called up from minor league camp for the day, but still, 31 pitchers to play 34 exhibition games is hardly overkill.

Lefty relievers

40-man roster players: none!

Not one single lefty reliever on the 40-man roster and very few lefties at the upper levels period. Edgar Barclay had a 5.98 ERA (6.25 FIP) in 143 Triple-A innings last year and isn’t even a stuff over stats type. He’s a Triple-A innings muncher and an emergency big league option. Nothing more. Leibrandt is similar, though the pitch models love his changeup. Selvidge isn’t a lefty reliever candidate right now. Maybe at midseason.

I see only two in-house lefty reliever types with a chance to get a non-roster invite: Ryan Anderson and Ben Shields. I wrote about Shields briefly two weeks ago. He reached Double-A last season and pitched very well there, and has a sneaky good three-pitch mix (low-90s fastball, slider, curveball) and command. The jump from Double-A to MLB is a big one, but doable. I know Shields has fans around the game.

Anderson, a 12th round pick back in 2019, has pitched well in Double-A when healthy the last two years (2.06 ERA, 3.01 FIP, 27.5 K%, 9.9 BB%, 63.1 GB% in 56.2 IP). He’s a big dude (6-foot-6) with a low arm slot and a 90 mph fastball/80 mph slider pitch package. Anderson is already 26 and has been passed over in multiple Rule 5 Drafts. With all due respect, that we’re talking about him as an NRI possibility says more about the state of the lefty reliever pipeline than it does Anderson.

NRI prediction: Two players TBD. I’m gonna add a 40-man roster player here too. I think the Yankees will add a Major League lefty reliever in the coming weeks, be it Andrew Chafin or Tim Hill or someone else, and then add two NRI lefties as well. Not necessarily a recognizable name, but someone to fill the Anthony Misiewicz up/down depth role. (Misiewicz signed with the Twins recently, so it won’t be him.)

* * *

The Yankees typically bring something like 22-26 NRIs to big league camp each year. Add in the 40-man roster, which currently has one open spot, and you’re looking at 65 or so players in Spring Training. That’s a normal amount for the Yankees. Some teams like to bring lower minors prospects to camp and thus have more non-roster invitees, some have fewer.

I came up with 25 possible NRIs. Here is everything we just talked through in one place. Yellow means the player is one of my projected NRIs. Everyone else is on the 40-man roster:

Some guys can and will play other positions (Rice at first base, Cabrera in the outfield, etc.) and of course that group is subject to change with pitchers and catchers still two weeks away. The TBD spots are where I expect the Yankees to add players, plus there’s always a chance they make a trade (Stroman?) before Spring Training really starts up. That table is a snapshot in time.

I know NRIs aren’t not the most exciting topic in the world, but this is important stuff. Jordan Montgomery won a rotation spot as an NRI in 2017. Nestor Cortes was an NRI in 2021. Ian Hamilton, Lucas Luetge, Yangervis Solarte, Anthony Volpe … you never know when a guy will show up to camp without a 40-man roster spot and leave with a big league job.