By January 25th the baseball world is typically focused on the upcoming Spring Training schedule for all 30 MLB teams. This year, those thoughts have been overshadowed by the free agent market that is still completely in play as most of the big names have yet to find a new home. While we may still be focused on offseason tasks, teams are still moving on with their organizational duties.

Some of those duties include sending non-roster players invitations to big league Spring Training camp. The Cubs released the names of the 19 players that will be non-roster invitees this spring and this year has an interesting combination of familiar names, new guys, top prospects, and minor league veterans.

New Guys

Alberto Baldonado – LHRP

Anthony Bass – RHSP

Daniel Camarena – LHSP

Kyle Ryan – LHRP

Chris Gimenez – Catcher

Ryan Court – INF

Alberto Baldonado is the surprise invite here. The signing went under the radar but he is a 24-year-old lefty reliever that showed promise in the Mets system until he reached Triple-A. He has a good low-90s fastball but needs to work on his secondary offerings.

Kyle Ryan is a guy I expect to be one of the last men cut in the spring. He should make an impact being shipped back and forth between Iowa and Chicago this year.

Chris Gimenez is the recent signing that is noted for being Yu Darvish’s personal catcher for some time in Texas. The Grandpa Rossy comparisons are aplenty.

Familiar Arms

Craig Brooks – RHRP

David Garner – RHRP

Justin Hancock – RHRP

Thomas Hatch – RHSP

Williams Perez – LHSP

Thomas Hatch is the big name from this list. The top pick of the 2016 draft, he had an interesting season last year. There is a lot to like in his game and he is expected to continue to move quickly through the system. This invite only supports those expectations.

The rest of the list lacks super interesting names. Hancock was the return from the Padres in the Matt Szczur deal and Williams Perez is starting pitching depth again this year after a mediocre 2017 in Iowa.

Familiar Bats

Taylor Davis – Catcher

Ian Rice – Catcher

Ali Solis – Catcher

Mike Freeman – INF

Jason Vosler – 3B

Chesny Young – INF/OF

Jacob Hannemann – OF

Bijan Rademacher – OF

Many names to like on this list. The three catchers will contribute to the logjam of backstops at the Triple-A level this season. I suspect that at least one of Davis and Solis get cut during Spring Training to make room for Ian Rice to level up from Tennessee.

Jason Vosler and Chesny Young are both looking to bounce back this year. Vosler from a poor second half after a killer first half of 2017 and Young from a poor 2017 season after proving his versatility and hit tool could be useful in 2016.

Hannemann has had a crazy past few months but now finds himself back in Chicago’s big league camp and will look to prove himself as a worthy 5th outfielder this season.

Rademacher has been ready for Chicago the past three seasons in my opinion. He will continue to rake in Iowa until he gets his shot at Wrigley.