Article: Meet the Red Sox Spring Training Non-Roster Invitees

[Nick John]

With spring training officially getting underway, you'll be hearing a lot of new names for the next few months. Here's an introduction to all the Red Sox non-roster invitees, from the longshots to the Big Three.

Spring Training officially began this week for the Boston Red Sox as the full team began practicing on Monday. I figured it would be a good idea to go over the various non-roster invitees who will be battling it out to try and earn one of the last spots on the roster.

Pitchers

Michael Fulmer: The 2016 AL Rookie of the Year signed a two-year minor league deal with Boston last season as he recovered from surgery. Fulmer has mostly pitched out of the bullpen since 2021, but it’s believed that the Red Sox will look to stretch him out back into a starter in Worcester as depth.

Austin Adams: Adams has pitched for four teams across parts of eight seasons. A right-handed reliever, he pitched in 56 games for the Oakland Athletics in 2024. He was a decent bullpen arm for them, running a 3.92 ERA, though he allowed 23 walks in only 41 1/3 innings.

Sean Newcomb: A former starter while with the Braves, Newcomb is hoping to rediscover his form from 2017-2019, when he ran a 3.87 ERA over 105 games and 53 starts. Since then, he’s struggled, including in 2024 where he pitched in seven games for the Oakland Athletics. In those seven games he pitched 10 innings and gave up seven runs.

Bryan Mata: A former top prospect with the Red Sox, Mata could never stay healthy throughout his various stops across the minor leagues. Designated for assignment in November, he signed a minor league deal to return to the organization hours later. Mata pitched in 11 games last year, making seven starts. In total he threw 22 2/3 innings.

Robert Stock: Stock has had a long journey. spent parts of four seasons with four teams, including 10 games in 2020 with Boston. After 2021, he bounced between various leagues, pitching in Korea, Triple A for Milwaukee, in the Independent League and just recently in the Mexican League, where he radically changed his mechanics. After impressing in the Mexican Pacific Winter League with a 1.60 ERA in 84 1/3 innings pitched, Stock signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox.

Jovani Moran: Acquired in a trade from Minnesota for Mickey Gasper on Christmas Eve, Moran has pitched in 79 games across the 2021-2023 seasons. Moran missed the entire 2024 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. His best season was 2022, when he pitched in 31 games, throwing 40 2/3 innings to a 2.21 ERA and striking out 54 batters.

Brian Van Belle: Van Belle went undrafted out of Miami as a senior due to the shortened five-round draft and became one of the most sought-after seniors in the undrafted free agent class. Van Belle had been a starter in Boston’s organization until 2024, when he was moved to the bullpen in Worcester. In 30 games, he threw 93 2/3 innings and struck out 87 batters. Over the winter,r he pitched for Criollos de Caguas in the Puerto Rican Winter League, appearing in seven games and making four starts.

Jacob Webb: Drafted by the Red Sox in the 14th round of the 2021 draft, Webb made it up to Worcester by the end of the 2024 season. The right-hander appeared in four games at the end of the season for Worcester, throwing 3 2/3 innings while surrendering eight runs.

Noah Davis: A former 11th-round draft pick in 2018 by the Cincinnati Reds, Davis was traded to the Colorado Rockies and pitched in parts of three seasons for them before signing a minor league contract with Boston in December 2024. He pitched in nine games last season, throwing 20 1/3 innings. The past three offseasons, he has worked out at Driveline.

Isaiah Campbell: Acquired by Boston before the 2024 season in hopes of improving their bullpen, Campbell was unable to replicate his 2023 season. Pitching in eight games, Campbell threw 6 2/3 innings between an IL stint and a rehab stint before being shut down for the season in mid-July. He was non-tendered in November of 2024 but resigned on a minor league contract.

Yovanny Cruz: Cruz pitched in the Chicago Cubs organization for seven seasons, missing the 2020 season due to Covid and 2021 due to injury. He signed a minor league deal with the Padres for the 2024 season, when he pitched for double-A San Antonio. Cruz pitched in 23 games, throwing 29 2/3 innings.

Wyatt Mills: Mills spent parts of two seasons split between the Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals before being traded to Boston before the 2023 season. Mills has not pitched since 2022, as he missed the entire 2023 season due to injury before having Tommy John surgery in July 2023. He was non-tendered following the season and signed a two-year minor league contract with he Red Sox before the 2024 season. Mills did not pitch in 2024 as he rehabbed from his surgery.

Catchers

Seby Zavala: There are defense-first catchers, and then there's Seby Zavala. According to FanGraphs, over parts of five major-league seasons, Zavala's defense has earned his teams 26.2 runs, while his offense has earned -22.5. He made his major league debut in 2019 with the Chicago White Sox after being in their system since 2015. He was in their organization until the Arizona Diamondbacks claimed him off waivers in September 2023 before trading him to Seattle two months later. Zavala played in 33 games at triple-A Tacoma, where he slashed .188/.325/.376. Zavala also played in 18 games for Seattle. Zavala signed a minor league deal with Boston in November of 2024.

Mark Kolozsvary: Kolozsvary spent six seasons in the Cincinnati Reds’ organization, making his major-league debut in 2022. He played in 10 games. Kolozsvary split 2023 between the Baltimore Orioles organization and the Minnesota Twins organization, playing for both of their triple-A teams. He would spend 2024 playing in 27 games for triple-A Worcester in the Red Sox organization. He spent a good portion of the season on the development list.

Nathan Hickey: Drafted in the fifth round of the 2021 draft by the Red Sox, Hickey opened the 2024 season in Worcester. He appeared in 86 games but struggled to a .210/.340/.397 slash line before being demoted to Portland. Hickey continued to struggle in Portland, playing in 26 games but only slashing .207/.387/.329.

Infielders

Kristian Campbell: The Red Sox' number two prospect behind Roman Anthony, Campbell burst onto the scene in 2024. Drafted in the fourth round of the 2023 draft, Campbell split the 2024 season between Greenville, Portland and Worcester. Overall, he slashed .330/.439/.558 across 115 games. Campbell has also shown an ability to play multiple positions, appearing at second base, third base, center field, and shortstop.

Marcelo Mayer: A first-round pick in the 2021 draft, Mayer has made his way throughout the Red Sox minor league levels. He spent most of 2024 in Portland, appearing in 77 games and slashing .307/.370/.480. Mayer ended the 2024 season in Worcester but did not play a single game due to yet another injury.

Abraham Toro: Toro spent six seasons in the Houston Astros organization, including stints in the majors for parts of three seasons before getting traded to Seattle in 2021. He remained in Seattle until the end of the 2022 season, when he was traded to Milwaukee, and played the 2023 season for them. Toro spent the 2024 season with the Oakland Athletics after being traded to them by Milwaukee. He signed a minor league deal with Boston in January of 2025.

Nate Eaton: A former 21st-round pick in the 2018 draft by Kansas City, Eaton made it to the major leagues for them in 2022. Eaton would spend part of 2023 in the majors as well before spending the entire 2024 season in Triple-A Omaha. He signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox in November of 2024. Eaton has never quite figured out the offensive side of things, running a career wRC+ of just 51. Howver, he's got one of the strongest arms in baseball, and touched 94.9 mph on the radar gun when pitching during garbage time. One of these years, we might end up putting him in the pitching section of this article.

Outfielders

Roman Anthony: You don't need to be introduced to Roman Anthony. The top prospect in baseball, Anthony was drafted in the compensation round following the second round of the 2022 draft. He made it to triple-A Worcester by the age of 20 during the 2024 season and showed that he was ready for the major leagues after slashing .344/.463/.519 in 35 games.

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[mvp 78]

Zavala and Kolozsvary are great to have in AAA working with the younger pitchers. I think Hickey is just there as a warm body who has his own catcher's mitt. 

[Bellhorn04]

It's gonna be an interesting spring to say the least.

[moonslav59]

We certainly have the numbers, when it comes to depth, although some of these guys will end up being released, outright by the end of ST'ing.

Many have shown some serious skills, in the past, and not so long ago, for some.

Numbers are good to have, and playing the odds that a handful out the no-names might rise to the top to be decent depth is a good strategy.

I wish we had some more top talent in the pen and at the catcher position, but every team has weak areas, but few have this sort of deep depth.

[mvp 78]

 

[mvp 78]

Signing posted elsewhere, but we have another NRI to add: 

 

[Malcolm White]

I swear some of those pitchers would've been counted on to be starters for the big club in 2020-21. The fact that they'll be lucky to get a sniff in Worcester's bullpen is a great credit to Breslow's building of pitching depth in the short year-plus he's been at the helm.

[Larry Cook]

Competition brings out the best in players!!! 
 

I love bres-slow’s work thus far in his tenure!!!!

ps: if stock ever sees the field for us, then you know we are circling the toilet 

[moonslav59]

Brez has made a pretty big impact on the 26 and 40 man roster, as well as the farm in less than 16 months.

[mvp 78]

11 hours ago, Malcolm White said:

I swear some of those pitchers would've been counted on to be starters for the big club in 2020-21. The fact that they'll be lucky to get a sniff in Worcester's bullpen is a great credit to Breslow's building of pitching depth in the short year-plus he's been at the helm.

Bloom always seemed to try to find low upside guys off the waiver wire and hope to hit on 1 out of 10 or so. Breslow’s approach (building pitching system top to bottom and adding known commodities at MLB level) helps the BOS team be more competitive year after year IMO.

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Bloom always seemed to try to find low upside guys off the waiver wire and hope to hit on 1 out of 10 or so. Breslow’s approach (building pitching system top to bottom and adding known commodities at MLB level) helps the BOS team be more competitive year after year IMO.

That's a good comp. Bloom swung and missed on so many of his attempts- seemingly way more than the Rays ever did.

[Bellhorn04]

10 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

That's a good comp. Bloom swung and missed on so many of his attempts- seemingly way more than the Rays ever did.

And the Cardinals got a solid F from The Athletic for their offseason work.

[moonslav59]

12 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

And the Cardinals got a solid F from The Athletic for their offseason work.

He's on another team looking to shed salary.

[Bellhorn04]

1 minute ago, moonslav59 said:

He's on another team looking to shed salary.

And loudly proclaimed that trading Arenado was a big priority, and failed to get it done.

[moonslav59]

2 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

And loudly proclaimed that trading Arenado was a big priority, and failed to get it done.

To bad he didn't fail to trade Betts.

[mvp 78]

2 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

And the Cardinals got a solid F from The Athletic for their offseason work.

He's not officially in charge yet, I believe. That's not until next offseason.