Seattle Mariners announce Spring Training Invites for MILB

The Seattle Mariners are just 4 weeks away from their first full-squad workout of spring training. And yesterday, we learned exactly who will join them from the minor league side.

On Wednesday, the Mariners revealed the 21 names they will invite to Major League camp for spring training. These 21 players will join the players on the 40 man roster and get to go through the paces of big league camp.

The most notable names who received invites are the Mariners’ top 2 prospects; Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez. Both players appeared in some MLB spring training games last March, but will now big with the big league squad for a few weeks and should see a bit more action in Cactus League games.

Also receiving an invitation was Seattle’s number 1 pitching prospect, right-handed pitcher Logan Gilbert. Gilbert, who cruised through 3 levels of the minors last season, will likely start 2020 in AA Arkansas but could get an extended look this spring. Gilbert is expected to make his MLB debut at some point in 2020.

Gilbert will throw some of his bullpens to Cal Raleigh, who followed Gilbert from High-A Modesto to Arkansas last season. Perhaps not included with the bigger names are a pair of Mariners minor league award winners. Connor Hoover, who won the Edgar Martinez “Rake” Award, as well as Penn Murfee, who won the “60 ft. 6 in. Club” award won automatic invites for their work in 2019.

Other notable names who received an invitation include Sam Delaplane, Aaron Fletcher, Ljay Newsome, and Joey Gerber. It is possible that one of those 4 arms breaks camp with the Mariners, though unlikely.

The Mariners can, and likely will, add more players to their roster before and during spring training. Any MLB deals will require a 40-man roster space to be cleared, while any MILB deals will just be added to the group of 61 who will participate in the first group workout.

For a full list of the 21 players invited to spring training, click here.