Top MLB non-roster invitees in Spring Training 2025

Broadly speaking, there are three types of players in every Spring Training camp:

1. The established players who know they have a spot on a Major League roster and are trying to build up for the 162-game season that lies ahead.

2. The up-and-coming youngsters who may be experiencing their first big league camp and are trying to show that they belong.

3. The veterans who have loads of experience and are trying to show that they still belong.

We are going to focus on that third group, which includes former All-Stars, Rookies of the Year, top Draft picks and World Series champions this year. They all had their moments in the Majors. Now, they are competing for a spot as a non-roster invitee.

Let's remember some guys by spotlighting 20 of the highest-profile players who are NRIs in Spring Training.

Tim Anderson, SS, Angels
Anderson was a legitimate star only a couple of years ago. Heading into 2023, he was still considered a top-100 player by MLB Network and was ranked inside the top 40 in '21 and '22. Anderson, who won the 2019 American League batting title with a .335 average for the White Sox, hit .318 and with a 122 OPS+ from '19-'22. But hitting proved easier than staying healthy for Anderson, who hasn't played in more than 123 games since 2018.

The injuries seemed to take quite a toll on the two-time All-Star shortstop. In 2023 -- his final year with Chicago -- Anderson recorded a .582 OPS and minus-2.0 bWAR. He latched on with the Marlins last year, but after putting up an unsightly 27 OPS+ in 65 games, he was released in July. Like many players on this list, Anderson is looking forward to a fresh start with a new team, possibly while playing a new position.

Cavan Biggio, 2B, Royals
Biggio, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette were the second-generation trio that was supposed to usher in the next great era of Blue Jays baseball. Vlad and Bo became the faces of the franchise. Biggio, conversely, couldn't sustain his early success. After hitting 24 homers and registering a .798 OPS through his first two seasons, Biggio tallied 27 homers and a .673 OPS from the start of 2021 to when Toronto traded him to the Dodgers last June. Biggio's ability to play in the infield and the outfield should help his chances of breaking camp with Kansas City.

Carlos Carrasco, RHP, Yankees
Here is our first of two players who are back after being on this same list in 2024. One year ago, Carrasco reunited with the Guardians -- his team for his first 11 big league seasons -- and ended up becoming a fairly important piece for a rotation that was decimated by injuries. He threw 103 2/3 innings over 21 starts. Now the 37-year-old is with the Yankees, something he has called a "dream." Carrasco is just a few years removed from a productive season with the crosstown Mets as he produced a 3.97 ERA over 152 frames in 2022.

Jesse Chavez, RHP, Rangers
If it seems like Chavez has played in the Majors forever and everywhere, it's because he kind of has. The 41-year-old is entering his 18th year in MLB and has suited up for nine teams. This is Chavez's fourth stint with the Rangers, who drafted him in 2006 and traded him to the Pirates prior to his MLB debut in 2008. A decade later, he played the first half of the 2018 season with Texas, was traded again, signed with the Rangers as a free agent after that season and played with the club in 2019 and '20.

But this is it. Chavez recently made it clear to The Athletic (subscription required) that 2025 will be his final season. He posted a 3.13 ERA over 46 appearances out of the Braves' bullpen last season. Chavez was a member of Atlanta's World Series championship club in 2021.

Bobby Dalbec, 1B, White Sox
Dalbec burned bright like a comet for the Red Sox at the start of the 2020s. A comet is also a good description of what the ball looked like coming off his bat early in his career. After a solid introduction in '20 -- eight homers in 23 MLB games -- Dalbec's outstanding raw power was on display for all of 2021. He bopped 25 homers that season and recorded a 20.2% barrel rate, which trailed only Shohei Ohtani and Fernando Tatis Jr. among hitters with at least 250 batted balls.

But Dalbec has always been an all-or-nothing hitter in the box, and he has come up empty far too often since the start of 2022. He began that year as Boston's everyday first baseman but was demoted to the Triple-A in September after recording 11 homers and 113 strikeouts in 304 at-bats. Dalbec has still shown pop in the Minors with 53 dingers over the past two seasons. But during that same period in the Majors, he has struck out 71 times and homered only twice in 132 at-bats.

J.D. Davis, 1B, Angels
Like Anderson, Davis is competing for a spot on the Angels' roster as a backup infielder. And like Anderson, his best full season came in 2019. That's when Davis clubbed 22 home runs and compiled a .307/.369/.527 slash line with the Mets. He was serviceable at the plate in 2020 and during an injury-shortened '21 campaign before the Mets traded him to the Giants in July 2022. Davis experienced a bit of a resurgence in 2023, highlighted by 18 homers in 144 games. He had stints with the A's and Yankees last season.

Neftalí Feliz, RHP, Mariners
Three seasons have passed since we last saw Feliz in the big leagues, and he hasn't been considered an important part of any MLB bullpen since 2017. But if you checked out some Dominican Winter League action over the past couple of years, you might have seen Feliz doing what he did best in the Majors: closing out games.

Nearly 15 years ago, Feliz was one of the best closers in the game. The 2010 AL Rookie of the Year with the Rangers, Feliz notched 72 saves from 2010-11 as Texas won back-to-back pennants. He spent seven years with the Rangers before bouncing around the league between 2015-21. The Mariners would be Feliz's seventh team if he is able to make the roster.

Michael Fulmer, RHP, Red Sox
Six years after Feliz was named the AL's top rookie, Fulmer took home the same honor while with the Tigers. He had a 3.06 ERA over 159 innings, and his 5.4 bWAR tied for ninth among pitchers. Fulmer followed that up with an All-Star selection in 2017, but Tommy John surgery in 2019 marked the beginning of the end of his days as a starter. By 2021, the Tigers had moved Fulmer to the bullpen, and he produced a 2.97 ERA with 14 saves that year. The 31-year-old split the past two seasons between the Twins and the Cubs.

Giovanny Gallegos, RHP, Dodgers
Gallegos was a top-10 reliever from 2019-22 with the Cardinals. Armed with a mid-90s fastball and a high-whiff slider, Gallegos ranked third in opponents' batting average (.179), eighth in ERA (2.84) and eighth in K-BB rate (25.4%) among the 98 relievers who threw at least 150 innings during that span.

However, Gallegos' performance and velocity declined significantly in 2024. His four-seamer lost about 1.5 mph from '23, and he pitched to a 6.53 ERA before the Cardinals designated him for assignment in July. Now with the reigning World Series champs, Gallegos will see if some reported mechanical changes can put some life back into his heater.

Joey Gallo, 1B, White Sox
Dalbec isn't the only slugger with light-tower power looking for a role with the White Sox. Gallo belted 138 homers and made two All-Star teams from 2017-21 with the Rangers. Even though he could struggle to hit better than .200 and had a couple of 200-strikeout seasons on his ledger, Gallo was a sought-after commodity at the 2021 Trade Deadline because of his loud bat and above-average outfield defense. He was ultimately dealt to the Yankees that July, which represented a turning point in his career.

Gallo fell far short of expectations in the Bronx as he turned in a .159/.291/.368 slash line and hit 25 homers in 140 games before he was shipped to the Dodgers in August 2022. Over the past two seasons while with the Twins and Nationals, Gallo batted .170 with a .685 OPS, recorded a 41.2% strikeout rate and made five trips to the injured list.

Gallo joining White Sox on Minor League deal

Yuli Gurriel, 1B, Padres
Gurriel was a star in his native Cuba for more than a decade before he made his MLB debut at age 32 in 2016. His seven-season run with the Astros had plenty of high points. He put up a 121 OPS+ as a rookie in 2017 and secured the final out of that year's World Series. He swatted 31 home runs in 2019, won a batting title and a Gold Glove in '21, and helped Houston win another championship in '22.

Gurriel departed the Astros as a free agent after that second title and has since batted just .244 with a 77 OPS+ over 394 plate appearances while with the Marlins and Royals. Now 40 years old, Gurriel could be an option for the Padres at first base or designated hitter.

Keston Hiura, 2B, Rockies
The No. 8 overall pick by the Brewers in the 2017 Draft, Hiura had the potential to be not just a good hitter but a "plus-plus" hitter, as his 2019 prospect writeup states. Hiura had a 70-grade hit tool, 60-grade power and looked like the real deal when he debuted with Milwaukee in 2019 as he slashed .303/.368/.570 with 19 homers in 84 games.

But it's been all downhill for Hiura since then. His slash line over the next three seasons was .205/.293/.394, and he posted a 38.5% K rate. Hiura's time with the Brewers came to a close in 2023. He appeared in 10 games with the Angels last year and picked up four singles and 10 strikeouts in 27 at-bats. Maybe Hiura will rediscover his old form in hitter-friendly Coors Field.

Eloy Jiménez, DH, Rays
Jim��nez didn't mince words when asked recently about his 2024 season, calling it "a disaster." The right-handed slugger hit just six homers in 349 plate appearances split between the White Sox and Orioles and once again saw his year impacted by multiple stints on the injured list. Jim��nez's inability to stay healthy has become a dominant storyline in his career as he has played in 357 of a possible 648 games since the start of 2021. But when he's on the field, he's been a force at the plate more often than not. Jim��nez hit 31 homers in his 2019 debut year with Chicago and claimed a Silver Slugger Award during the shortened 2020 season. Only a few months past his 28th birthday, Jim��nez is the youngest player on this list and is a low-risk, high-reward possibility for Tampa Bay.

Trey Mancini, 1B, D-backs
Like Carrasco, Mancini is on this list for the second straight year and has continued his career after beating cancer a few years back. His most productive years came with Baltimore as he hit 117 homers and recorded a 116 OPS+ over parts of six seasons. He won a World Series ring with the Astros in 2022, but his production fell sharply with Houston and in the following season with the Cubs. Last year, Mancini vied for a spot on the Marlins' roster during Spring Training but didn't make the cut. He recently told MLB Network Radio that he thought then that his career might be over. But he said that he "got the itch back" last summer and is attempting to make the best of his opportunity with the D-backs.

Wade Miley, LHP, Reds
Miley is continuing his tour through the NL Central with a return to Cincinnati, where he enjoyed perhaps the best season of his 14-year career. In 2021, he produced a career-high 5.3 bWAR and posted a 139 ERA+ over 163 innings for the Reds. Miley moved on to the Cubs in 2022 and then spent two years with the Brewers, the second of which was cut short by season-ending elbow surgery. The 38-year-old southpaw said earlier this month that he is a little ahead of schedule in his recovery.

Shelby Miller, RHP, D-backs
Miller has rejoined the D-backs nearly a decade after he was at the center of a stunning offseason trade. Prior to the 2016 season, Arizona acquired Miller -- who was coming off an All-Star season with the Braves -- for three players. The headliner was shortstop Dansby Swanson, whom the D-backs selected with the No. 1 pick in the Draft just six months prior. The trade was a bust for Arizona as Miller logged a 6.35 ERA across three injury-shortened seasons with the club while Swanson became a fixture for the Braves and a World Series champion in 2021.

Miller, 34, has pitched for five different teams in the past five seasons. He has reinvented himself as a useful reliever and had a 1.71 ERA across 42 innings (36 appearances) for the Dodgers in 2023. He made a career-high 51 appearances for the Tigers last year.

Matt Moore, LHP, Red Sox
While we are remembering some guys, let's also remember MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list for 2012. You will see Miller at No. 5 and Moore at No. 1, ahead of Bryce Harper and Mike Trout. Moore, at the age of 23, tossed 177 1/3 innings for the Rays that year and 150 1/3 the following season, which included an All-Star selection and a top-10 finish in the AL Cy Young voting. However, Moore's career went sideways after his Tommy John surgery in April 2014. From 2015-21, he recorded a 5.26 ERA while spending time with five different teams.

So, Moore became another pitcher on this list who transitioned from being in a rotation to being in a bullpen. He was outstanding for the Rangers in 2022, registering a 1.95 ERA and a 10.1 K/9 rate over 74 innings. But he is coming off a rough year with the Angels, one in which his ERA ballooned to 5.03, his four-seamer velocity dropped from 94.0 mph to 92.7 mph, and his season was ended in August by a left forearm strain.

Brendan Rodgers, 2B, Astros
As you may have heard, the Astros could have a new second baseman for the first time in a long time this year. Rodgers might be that man. The 28-year-old was non-tendered by the Rockies in November, a move that caught him by surprise. Although he hasn't quite lived up to the billing after being the No. 3 overall Draft pick in 2015 and a top-10 prospect entering 2019, Rodgers did win a Gold Glove at second base in 2022. He has produced at least 13 homers and an OPS better than .700 in three of the past four seasons.

Eddie Rosario, OF, Dodgers
Rosario began his career by bashing 119 home runs for the Twins from 2015-20. He even received some down-ballot MVP votes in his final two seasons with Minnesota. But now that he's with the Dodgers, Rosario is probably hearing a lot about what he accomplished in 2021. That was the year Rosario, as a member of the Braves, tormented the Dodgers in the NLCS. He went 14-for-25 at the plate and hit three homers en route to earning series MVP honors. The 33-year-old is coming off a subpar season split between the Braves and Nationals, but he made a good first impression with his new teammates on Wednesday when he belted the first Spring Training home run of 2025.

Dominic Smith, 1B, Yankees
Drafted by the Mets with the No. 11 pick of the 2013 Draft, Smith landed on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list in 2016 and '17. He broke out in 2019 with a .282 average and an .880 OPS before a stress reaction in his left foot effectively ended his season in July. Smith bounced back even stronger during the shortened 2020 campaign, compiling a .316/.377/.616 slash line in 50 games. But he hasn't been a league-average hitter in any season since, resulting in an 86 OPS+ over the past four years. On the plus side, Smith's defense at first base has greatly improved in recent years; he has accrued six outs above average since 2022, his final season with the Mets. Smith spent the bulk of 2024 with the Red Sox and is now on the other side of baseball's best rivalry.