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Pablo Sandoval, 3B, Braves
There was this fun moment last October when Sandoval pinch-hit in the NLCS and all of Baseball Twitter woke up to the reality that the Panda was, indeed, on the Atlanta Braves. Now we’ll get to relive that on Opening Day or soon thereafter since the 34-year-old Sandoval made the club as a non-roster invitee.
Going into camp, the safer guess would have been that Jason Kipnis would land a reserve infield role after his solid season with the Cubs, but it turns out Pandas, like cats, have nine lives.
Garrett Whitlock, RHP, Red Sox
Over the course of four appearances in the Grapefruit League, Whitlock threw the equivalent of a fantastic full game -- nine innings, one run, 12 strikeouts, no walks. That was enough to land the Rule 5 Draft pickup a roster spot, and he will be an option out of the bullpen, initially, and perhaps in the rotation eventually.
Whitlock is 24 with a mid-90s fastball and a changeup that was a revelation this spring. So he could be fun to watch. And here’s the delicious part for Red Sox fans: Boston took him from the Yankees.