Most non-roster invitees will report to spring training on the outside looking in in the battle for roster spots. Invariably, however, a few manage to beat the odds and claw their way onto rosters every year.
In this series, I’ll be looking at some of the more notable NRI’s, by team. I won’t be covering everybody, but I’ll try to touch on every player with a legitimate chance to make some noise in March.
First up, the Baltimore Orioles.
RHP Ryan Drese—Drese doesn’t have much of a chance of making the Orioles, but I’m including him here just because it’s interesting to see him not only back in organized baseball, but also in a major league camp.
Drese was rarely an effective big league pitcher, posting a 5.31 ERA in his six-year career from 2001-2006, last pitching with the Nationals after previous stints with Cleveland and Texas. A groundball pitcher, he never developed much beyond his high-80’s sinker and curveball, so perhaps he’d be better suited to relieving.
Now 34, Drese last pitched in organized baseball in 2008, when he made one disastrous start for the Pirates’ Triple-A club. He’s spent the last two years in independent ball, putting up low ERAs but walking more than he struck out. It’s doubtful he’s got anything much left, but interesting that Baltimore thought enough of the veteran to bring him to camp.
INF Brendan Harris—Formerly useful thanks to his above-average power for a middle infielder, Harris doesn’t have a good enough glove to help his cause when his bat struggles. His hitting regressed badly the past two years, and he went just 17-for-120 in 2010. Harris is still only 30, and he once hit .286/.343/.434, so he’s worth taking a look at; if he shows signs of life offensively, he’s worth a utility job, certainly more than Cesar Izturis.
LHP Mark Hendrickson—Finally put in the bullpen and left alone, Hendrickson turned in a serviceable season and finally pushed his K/9 above 6.00 in 2010. He’ll never be mistaken for any sort of dominant pitcher, but he takes the ball and can eat bullpen innings without embarrassing himself.
The addition of a cutter gave Hendrickson in 2010 a weapon against righties that his changeup never was. At 36, he’s probably not worth a roster spot for this building team, but if several of the young pitchers show they need more seasoning, or if injuries arise, Hendrickson’s a fine placeholder.
RHP Wynn Pelzer—Pelzer was the big prize for Miguel Tejada; most expected him to be added to the 40-man over the offseason, but he wasn’t. There was much speculation that Pelzer would be selected in the Rule 5 Draft as a result, but his severe control problems scared teams away.
Pelzer’s the sort of hard-throwing, recently-converted-to-relief pitcher that could show up in camp, dazzle, and be a closer by May, a la Andrew Bailey, but the 24-year-old hasn’t seen Triple-A yet and didn’t light Double-A on fire in 2010, thanks to the aforementioned control problems. He does possess a good arsenal of pitches, with a mid-90’s fastball, hard slider, and diving splitter, but it remains to be seen if he shows up with the ability to repeat his delivery.
LHP Clay Rapada—The sidewinding lefty has received big league cameos in each of the past four seasons, but his mid-80’s fastball and sweeping slider haven’t impressed either opposing hitters or his own managers enough for Rapada to stick around for an extended period of time. Walking 25 batters and striking out 26 in 36 1/3 frames will do that.
Still, though, Rapada’s done some impressive stuff in Triple-A (1.82 ERA, 2.63 FIP there last year), and MLB hitters have had a tough time squaring him up (.257 BABIP and 16.8% line drive, obviously small sample), so perhaps he can stick around as a situational guy.
OF Randy Winn—Winn, 36, has been around forever–since 1998, to be exact. He’s fallen pretty far since his .300/.363/.426 line in 2008, though, and his defense last year was the worst of his career according to UZR. Since he was good offensively as recently as 2008, and defensively as recently as 2009, there’s reason to give Winn a look, particularly for a team like Baltimore, but he’s not at an age where players are likely to bounce back.
However, he was adapting to a bench role for the first time last year, and also had very bad BABIP luck, so at least some correction should be in order for the veteran if he makes the Orioles.