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Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle has tweeted out the current edition of the Oakland Athletics non-roster invitee list, which is still preliminary, but with the 40-man roster full, an extra 20 players is just about a full camp, so I don't expect too many more significant non-roster additions:
The #Athletics current list of non-roster invitees to spring training includes Manaea, Nottingham, Pinder: pic.twitter.com/gfGgMcbIWR
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) January 20, 2016
I'm really not sure of the last time all of the top seven members in our Community Prospect List (Renato Nunez is running away with #7) were invited to or already on the 40-man roster for major league spring camp. While Franklin Barreto, Matt Chapman, and Jacob Nottingham will all probably start the year in Double-A, the other four all have a good chance to break into the major league squad this year.
Sean Manaea, our no. 1, has an outside chance of breaking camp in the starting rotation, though there will be heavy competition depending on the health of the pitching staff. Matt Olson (#3) will be behind some veterans and trade acquisitions but could see a midseason call up if one of those is traded away or injured, particularly if an outfield injury crisis develops.
Chad Pinder (#6) is in a similar boat as Olson, though there are more options on the 40-man roster to fill in for a middle infielder right now such as Tyler Ladendorf and Joey Wendle. Renato Nunez (#7) is already on the 40-man roster, and should be in the mix if the A's need a call up at corner infield.
One fun note, minor league outfielder-first baseman Matt McBride is listed as a catcher, though he has not had an official professional game behind the plate since June 17, 2013, and hasn't caught more than a handful of games in a season since 2007. I guess it's like riding a bike.
Graduating from last year's NRI list to the 40-man roster are Joey Wendle, Max Muncy, and Fernando Rodriguez. Returnees are Angel Castro, Carson Blair, and Bruce Maxwell.
Notable omissions for the A's (with prospect rankings from Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, and John Sickels, include:
- Top 10 prospects
- SS Richie Martin (BA #5/BP #5/JS #9), just drafted in 2015;
- RHP Casey Meisner (BA #9/BP #8/JS #10), acquired in the trade sending Tyler Clippard to the Mets. He'll probably start the year in Double-A, he only turns 21 next season, and there are a lot of starting pitchers ahead of him on the depth chart.
- SS Yairo Munoz (BA #10/BP #7/JS #8), who turns 21 this month;
- Other Triple-A players
- 1B-3B Ryon Healy, who finished a good Double-A campaign in 2015 hitting .302/.339/.426 (113 wRC+) in 543 plate appearances with 10 home runs.
- LF-RF Jaycob Brugman, who might pass as the A's best outfield prospect if you don't count Matt Olson. His Double-A campaign went .260/.343/.382 (105 wRC+) in 566 plate appearances in Midland.
- RHP Aaron Kurcz, acquired for an international bonus slot from the Atlanta Braves. He had high strikeout (over 10 per nine innings) and walk (over 5 per nine innings) rates in Triple-A last season.
Players that are assigned to minor league camp will occasionally be called to major league spring training games as needed, particularly on split-squad days.
