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Judge, Severino, Bird, Lindgren, Refsnyder headline Spring Training invitees list

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Refsnyder. (MiLB.com)
Refsnyder. (MiLB.com)

Two weeks from tomorrow, pitchers and catchers will report to Tampa for the start of Spring Training 2015. Baseball’s getting closer, folks. On Thursday, the Yankees officially announced their list of Spring Training invitees, a list that runs 66 (!) players deep.

As a reminder, everyone on the 40-man roster automatically goes to big league Spring Training, because duh. Here’s the 40-man roster and here are the 26 non-40-man roster players who have been invited to big league camp, which include some of the Yankees’ top prospects:

POSITION PLAYERS
C Francisco Arcia
C Trent Garrison
C Juan Graterol
C Kyle Higashioka
C Eddy Rodriguez
1B Greg Bird
1B Kyle Roller
IF Cito Culver
IF Cole Figueroa
IF Jonathan Galvez
IF Nick Noonan
IF Rob Refsnyder
OF Jake Cave
OF Slade Heathcott
OF Aaron Judge

PITCHERS
RHP Andrew Bailey
RHP Scott Baker
RHP Jose Campos
RHP Nick Goody
LHP Jacob Lindgren
RHP Diego Moreno
LHP James Pazos
RHP Wilking Rodriguez
RHP Nick Rumbelow
RHP Luis Severino
LHP Tyler Webb

Obviously the biggest names here are Judge, Bird, Severino, Refsnyder, and Lindgren, five of the team’s very best prospects. Lindgren, the Yankees’ top pick in last year’s draft, has a legitimate chance to make the Opening Day roster. So does Refsnyder, but he has more bodies ahead of him on the depth chart. I can’t see any scenario in which Judge, Severino, or Bird make the roster out of camp.

Bailey has been rehabbing from shoulder capsule surgery for nearly two years now and appears to finally be healthy. Could he step in and close with Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller working as setup men? Bailey has closer experience, you know. Graterol, Figueroa, Galvez, Noonan, Baker, and the two Rodriguezes were added a minor league free agents for depth this winter. The rest are farm system products. Guys looking to put themselves on the map for a midseason call-up.

Teams always need extra catchers to help catch all those early-Spring Training bullpen sessions, which is why the Yankees are bringing five non-roster backstops to camp in addition to the four catchers already on the 40-man roster. The last bullpen spot is up for grabs — it could be more than one if Adam Warren and/or Esmil Rogers are needed to help the rotation — so camp is a big opportunity for these pitchers, especially guys like Rumbelow, Webb, Goody, and Pazos, who aren’t top prospects.

Draft Signing Updates: Judge, Clarkin, Coleman

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Earlier today we learned first round pick 3B Eric Jagielo and fourth round pick SS Tyler Wade had signed for straight slot bonuses, now here are some more updates on various Yankees draft picks (draft round in parenthesis):

  • Fresno State OF Aaron Judge (1s) said he is “real confident” he will sign soon, according to Bryan Hoch. Judge took batting practice with the team yesterday in Oakland. Slot money for the 32nd overall pick is $1,677,100, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he took straight slot money like Jagielo.
  • California HS LHP Ian Clarkin (1s) will travel to Tampa on Monday according to K. Levine-Flandrup, presumably to get his physical out of the way. The San Diego commit is slotted for a bit more than $1.65M, and I’m guessing he’ll sign close to the deadline for more than that.
  • California HS SS Gosuke Katoh (2) will also travel to Tampa on Monday after graduating tomorrow, according to KL-F. Yesterday it was reported Katoh said he “should be a Yankee by next week.” Slot money is just under $846k, but I think he winds up with less.
  • Texas HS OF Kendall Coleman (11) has agreed to terms pending a physical, reports KL-F. No word on the money yet, but every pick after the tenth round is slotted for $100k. Anything in excess of that counts against the draft pool. Coleman is a bat-first prospect with power from the left side.
  • Hoch has a handful of late-round signings to pass along: San Diego State RHP Phil Walby (12), Sam Houston State LHP Caleb Smith (14), Northwest Mississippi JuCo CF Jordan Barnes (15), Kent State IF Derek Toadvine (22), Appalachian State RHP Sam Agnew-Wieland (24), Fresno State C Trent Garrison (28), and Appalachian State IF Hector Crespo (34). No word on the money for any of these, but it’s safe to assume it doesn’t exceed the $100k slot.

All of the team’s draft selections can be seen at Baseball America, and you can keep track of the draft pool situation with our 2013 Draft Pool page.