What you need to know about the Miami Marlins’ first wave of spring training invites
Outfielder Matt Kemp was the news for the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.
But the club did announce eight other players who will compete at spring training as non-roster invites.
Four catchers. Two infielders. Two right-handed relievers.
Here’s what you need to know about those eight.
The catchers
The Marlins are looking for players to compete with Chad Wallach for their backup catcher spot.
Ryan Lavarnway, Santiago Chavez, BJ Lopez and Brian Navarreto are the first names to surface as that competition.
Lavarnway is the biggest name — relatively speaking — of the bunch. The 32-year-old and former sixth-round pick by the Boston Red Sox has played in 151 career MLB games. He is a career .211 hitter with nine home runs and 50 RBI. He is a five-time minor-league All-Star and has hit .275 with 121 homers and 525 RBI over 885 minor-league games.
Chavez and Lopez are both in-house players. Chavez, 24, spent the 2019 season with the Double A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, hitting .173 with 16 RBI, one home run and 17 runs scored in 79 games while throwing out 38 of 79 attempted base stealers and making just five errors. Lopez, 25, played 41 games across three levels, primarily with the Class A Advanced Jupiter Hammerheads. He hit .167 in 126 at-bats, made three errors defensively and threw out 14 of 49 attempted base stealers.
Navarreto, a 2013 sixth-round pick by the Minnesota Twins, has played no higher than Double A in seven minor-league seasons. His best year offensively was 2018, when he hit .246 with 19 doubles, four home runs and 28 RBI over 97 games.
The infielders
Gosuke Katoh, the Yankees’ second-round pick in 2013, provides a lot of intrigue. The 6-2, 195-pound left-handed hitter has a career .251 batting average over 649 minor-league games with 38 home runs, 115 doubles, 309 runs scored and 80 stolen bases. He finished last season in Triple A.
Katoh has primarily been a second baseman in his seven-year minor-league career, with 366 of his 580 starts coming at the position. However, the 25-year-old has also played third base (100 starts), first base (65 starts), shortstop (40 starts) and left field (nine starts).
Christian Lopes, 27, hit .265 with 29 doubles, 13 home runs, and 65 RBI in 121 games between Double A and Triple A last year in the Texas Rangers organization. He played at second base (61 games), shortstop (26), right field (11), and left field (10).
The pitchers
Aaron Northcraft, 29, returned to professional baseball after a two-year hiatus and had a solid first season back. The 6-4, 230-pound righty and former 10th-round pick in the 2009 MLB draft had a 2.03 ERA with 39 strikeouts against 13 walks over 40 innings, most at the Triple A level. He held opponents to a .176 batting average.
Josh A. Smith, 32, is 5-11 with a 5.40 ERA over 85 career MLB appearances (11 starts). He struck out 132 batters over 158 1/3 innings. At the minor-league level, he’s went 5-5 with a 5.38 ERA in 13 appearances (12 starts) for Triple A Pawtucket in the Red Sox’s system.
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