Colorado Rockies announce 2021 spring training non-roster invitees

22 players will join Major League spring training at Salt River Fields

On Tuesday, the Colorado Rockies announced the names of 22 non-roster invitees who will be invited to major league spring training. They include a number of minor league signings, as well as prospects and players currently on the 40-man roster.

This year’s crew includes the following:

• Left-handed pitchers (2): Brian Gonzalez, Ryan Rolison (No. 1 PuRP)
• Right-handed pitchers (7): Julian Fernández, Chi Chi González, Joe Harvey, Heath Holder, Dereck Rodriguez, Chad Smith, Jesus Tinoco
• Catchers (5): José Briceño, Max George, Willie MacIver, Chris Rabago, Brian Serven
• Infielders (7): Greg Bird, C.J. Cron, Connor Joe, Chris Owings, Eric Stamets, Alan Trejo, Ryan Vilade (No. 3 PuRP)
• Outfielder (1): Jameson Hannah (No. 19 PuRP)

The club also announced 13 players who will participate in Triple-A Spring Training alongside Major League camp. Remember that due to the pandemic, only MLB and Triple-A players are reporting to spring training to start. Single-A and Double-A spring training will happen later.

Those players include:

• Left-handed pitchers (3): Ian Clarkin, Zac Rosscup, Jack Wynkoop
• Right-handed pitchers (3): Ryan Feltner (No. 25 PuRP), Brandon Gold, Garrett Schilling
• Catcher (1): Austin Bernard
• Infielders (3): Scott Burcham, José Gomez, Taylor Snyder
• Outfielders (3): Wynton Bernard, Casey Golden, Nick Longhi

A few of these prospects rank among the top 30 in the Rockies organization. According to MLB.com’s 2020 list (the 2021 list has not been released yet, these include: Ryan Rolison (No. 2), Ryan Vilade (No. 4), and Ryan Feltner (No. 22).

Chi Chi González, Joe Harvey, Jesus Tinoco, and Chris Owings all spent time with the major league team in 2020. González and Tinoco were both outrighted to Triple-A Albuquerque at the end of the 2020 season, while Owings and Harvey both elected free agency but then re-signed with the team.

Three players received major league playing time for other organizations in 2020:

• Dereck Rodriguez, 28, pitched in two games for the San Francisco Giants in 2020. He posted a 13.50 ERA in four innings and blew his only save opportunity.
• José Briceño, 28, played in two games for the Los Angeles Angels in 2020. He had one hit, one walk, and one strikeout in six plate appearances, posting a slash line of .200/.333/.200 in 2020.
• C.J. Cron, 31, played in 13 games for the Detroit Tigers before he went down with a knee injury. Prior to the injury, he had eight hits in 42 at-bats. He also recorded seven extra-base hits (3 doubles, 4 home runs) and therefore posted a slash of .190/.346/.548.

Prior to the Rule 5 Draft, the Rockies added INF Colton Welker (No. 5 PuRP), LHP Helcris Olivarez (No. 10 PuRP), INF Bret Boswell (No. 24 PuRP), and LHP Lucas Gilbreath. They will also be in major league camp.

The Rockies have a full 40-man roster, so it will be interesting to see how things shake out.

Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to begin their workouts on Thursday, February 19. The first full-squad workout will take place on February 23.

Here is the official Rockies press release: