Rays' non-roster invitees grant club a glimpse into the future

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Rays will get a glimpse of their future in Spring Training. And that future may not be far away.

The Rays announced on Thursday that 30 players on Minor League contracts have been invited to Major League camp. That group is headlined by top prospects Carson Williams, Xavier Isaac, Brayden Taylor, Tre' Morgan, Chandler Simpson and Dominic Keegan, all of whom finished last season with Double-A Montgomery.

In fact, nearly all of Montgomery’s starting lineup from their final game in the Southern League Championship Series will be in big league camp when the Rays report to Charlotte Sports Park next month. Slick-fielding infielder Tanner Murray and outfielder Matthew Etzel, acquired from the Orioles in the Zach Eflin trade, are also among Tampa Bay’s non-roster invitees.

Speaking about that “really special group of players” in Montgomery last September, assistant GM Kevin Ibach said the Rays have high expectations for them in the years to come. Many of them are expected to start this season in Triple-A, so they could be in consideration for the Majors as soon as this summer.

“This is going to be a core of what we expect to be a Major League team in the next couple years,” Ibach said then.

Williams was just ranked as MLB Pipeline’s top shortstop prospect and checked in at No. 9 on the new Top 100 Prospects list; he will be no stranger to big league camp, as he was also invited last spring. But this will be the first Major League Spring Training for slugging first baseman Isaac (No. 51 on the Top 100), do-it-all infielder Taylor (No. 67) and 2024 Rays Minor League Player of the Year Morgan (No. 94).

Keegan, who finished last season as the Rays’ No. 13 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, will be back in big league camp. This will be a fascinating first look at Simpson, the club’s No. 4 prospect at the end of last year, after he led the Minors with a .355 average and a mind-boggling 104 stolen bases.

The Rays have arguably the deepest farm system in baseball, especially after receiving a haul of prospects for the big leaguers they shipped out last July, and that depth should be apparent in the list of non-roster players they invited from within their organization.

Left-hander Keyshawn Askew, for instance, put together a 1.40 ERA with 66 strikeouts in 64 1/3 innings over 51 appearances in Double-A last year. And shortstop Gregory Barrios (No. 20), acquired last July for starter Aaron Civale, is arguably the best defensive player in the Rays’ system. Right-hander Cole Wilcox, who made eight starts for Durham last season, is the last player remaining from Tampa Bay’s return for Blake Snell.

But the Rays also officially invited several players to camp who signed Minor League contracts this offseason. That list includes former White Sox slugger Eloy Jiménez, whose signing was reported last month. He is one of seven non-roster invitees with previous Major League service time, along with right-handers Garrett Acton (with the A’s), Joey Gerber (Mariners), Joey Krehbiel (Rays, D-backs and Orioles) and Jonathan Hernández (Rangers and Mariners); left-hander Jake Brentz (Royals); and infielder Coco Montes (Rockies).

Rays pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report and hold their first workout at Charlotte Sports Park on Feb. 12. Position players are slated to do the same on Feb. 17.

Here is the full list of non-roster invitees, broken down by position.

Right-handed pitchers (13): Garrett Acton, Alex Cook, Michael Flynn, Joey Gerber, Paul Gervase, Jonathan Hernández, Joey Krehbiel, Ben Peoples, Austin Vernon, Cole Wilcox, Nathan Wiles, Logan Workman, Alfredo Zarraga

Left-handed pitchers (2): Keyshawn Askew, Jake Brentz

Catchers (3): Ricardo Genovés, Dominic Keegan, Kenny Piper

Infielders (8): Gregory Barrios, Xavier Issac, Coco Montes, Tre’ Morgan, Tanner Murray, Bob Seymour, Brayden Taylor, Carson Williams.

Outfielders (4): Matthew Etzel, Eloy Jiménez, Tristan Peters, Chandler Simpson