Seattle Mariners Notebook: Non-roster invitees for spring training set

Jan 30, 2025, 3:43 PM

Mariners Insider, Seattle Sports

With just over two weeks to go until Seattle Mariners pitchers and catchers report for spring training, the team has announced its list of 31 non-roster invitees.

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The group includes 21 players who spent time in the organization last year and 10 who have been brought in from the outside. The non-roster invitees each year helps fill out game rosters in the early weeks of spring training, gives young players exposure to a big league clubhouse and routines, provides the staff a look at potential depth pieces that can help throughout the year, and is a group that perhaps will produce a player that lands on the opening day roster.

Here’s the full list.

Pitchers (16)

• Peyton Alford, LHP
• Luis F. Castillo, RHP
• Tyler Cleveland, RHP
• Hunter Cranton, RHP
• Logan Evans, RHP
• Neftalí Feliz, RHP
• Josh Fleming, LHP
• Shintaro Fujinami, RHP
• Brandyn Garcia, LHP
• Jesse Hahn, RHP
• Austin Kitchen, LHP
• Sauryn Lao, RHP
• Casey Lawrence, RHP
• Adonis Medina, RHP
• Drew Pomeranz, LHP
• Dauris Valdez, RHP

The Mariners now have two pitchers named Luis Castillo

Position players (15)

• Michael Arroyo, INF
• Josh Caron, C
• Connor Charping, C
• Nick Dunn, INF
• Colt Emerson, INF
• Harry Ford, C
• Lazaro Montes, OF
• Jacob Nottingham, C
• Spencer Packard, OF
• Nick Raposo, C
• Brock Rodden, INF
• Samad Taylor, INF/OF
• Rhylan Thomas, OF
• Ben Williamson, INF
• Cole Young, INF

Now some highlights from the list.

Michael Arroyo and Tyler Cleveland are the “Dominate the Zone” tournament winners from the farm system – one pitcher, one batter – who each year are awarded a big league spring training invite.

Casey Lawrence, who won the camp 3-point competition last spring, enters spring as the oldest invitee at 38 years old, while 19-year-old Colt Emerson is the youngest player.

Emerson, the No. 16 overall prospect per Baseball America, is also one of the five top 100 prospects that the Mariners will have in camp. The others are Cole Young (No. 56), Arroyo (77), Harry Ford (95) and Lazaro Montes (97).

Those with major league experience include Drew Pomeranz, Neftalí Feliz, Jesse Hahn, Josh Fleming, Jacob Nottingham, Shintaro Fujinami, Casey Lawrence, Adonis Medina, Samad Taylor, Austin Kitchen, Luis F. Castillo and Nick Raposo.

With open spots in the bullpen and infield, there will be opportunity this spring at active roster spots for non-roster invitees or players on just the 40-man roster. While no non-roster invites made the Mariners’ opening day roster last year, five (Jhonathan Díaz, Kirby Snead, Ryan Bliss, Tyler Locklear and Leo Rivas) were eventually promoted to the 40-man roster and called up to the big league team during the year.

Seattle Mariners notes

• In an interview Wednesday on Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob, Mariners manager Dan Wilson indicated we still could see a roster addition before the start of spring training.

“We are looking at everything, there’s no doubt,” he told Bob Stelton and guest host Charlie Furbush. “We’re always looking to get better, and I think that it has been kind of an odd season in terms of free agents. There’s still a lot of guys that are still out there, a lot of question marks throughout the league, really. … I think as we get closer to spring training, there would be something that could happen. It’s kind of a wait and see thing, but for me the focus is getting the guys that we have and getting them on the field and getting them ready for what’s ahead.”

Watch a video of the whole conversation here:

• On Wednesday, the Mariners’ farm system was named the best in baseball by The Athletic, with Keith Law giving them the No. 1 ranking. The organization has placed six on the publication’s top 100 prospects list, seven on Baseball America’s top 100 and seven on MLB Pipeline’s list.

MLB Pipeline also put out their next-best list of each organization’s top prospect who is not on the 2025 top 100 list on Thursday. From the Mariners, they selected right-handed pitcher Ryan Sloan, who the organization went for over-slot in the second round of last year’s draft. Sloan just turned 19 year old is not on the invite list for spring training, but he is one that you will want to get a look at on the minor league side should you make the trip to spring training in Peoria.

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• A former Mariners fan favorite will also be making the trip to Peoria as the organization has hired Michael Saunders as minor league baserunning coordinator. He fills the spot vacated by Eric Young Jr., who has been promoted to Seattle’s big league staff as first base coach. Saunders, a native of nearby Victoria, British Columbia, had previously been working in the Braves organization.

Welcome back, Condor!