The Minnesota Twins announced invited 22 non-roster players to join them for Spring Training in Ft. Myers, Florida, next February.
The list includes some of the young pitching prospects and a few veteran players that are familiar to Twins fans.
Highlighting the list is young right-handed hurler Jose Berrios, who many thought might debut with the club in their push for the playoffs last season.
MLBPipeline.com says Berrios is Minnesota’s No. 2 prospect, and the 20th overall prospect in Major League Baseball.
He is expected to compete for a spot in the rotation this year – but with Phil Hughes, Ervin Santana and Kyle Gibson firmly entrenched, he will have to battle with Trevor May, Tyler Duffey, Tommy Milone and others for one of the final two spots.
Jose Berrios (@JOlaMaquina) headlines a group of 8 #MNTwins that could debut in 2015: https://t.co/srb33OQu8A pic.twitter.com/YDJwMy12SD
— Ted (@tlschwerz) December 17, 2015
Other young arms that will join him at spring training this year are youngsters Nick Burdi and Jake Reed, who could end up in the Twins’ bullpen at some point this season.
On the other end of things the Twins have also signed outfielders Darin Mastroianni and Joe Benson, both of whom have spent time with the organization
Mastroianni played for the Twins from 2012-14. His most extensive action with the club came in 2012, when he hit .252 with three home runs, 17 RBIs and 21 stolen bases in 77 games.
Benson was originally drafted by the Twins in the second round of the 2006 amateur draft. He played 21 games with Minnesota during a brief call up in 2011, before making a few other minor league stops with other organizations.
Pitchers and catches report to Ft. Myers on Feb. 21. Their first workout will be Feb. 22, the rest of the club’s first full workout is scheduled for Feb. 27.
