The Red Sox announced 13 additional non-roster invitees for next month’s spring training on Friday, and the list is heavy on catching depth.
Backstops Nathan Hickey, Mark Kolozsvary, Roberto Pérez, and Stephen Scott account for four of the 13 players hoping to impress in Fort Myers. Rounding out the group are pitchers Luis Guerrero, Justin Hagenman, Alex Hoppe, A.J. Politi, and Chase Shugart, infielders Chase Meidroth, Nick Sogard, and Nick Yorke, and outfielder Corey Rosier. (Invitations to Jorge Benitez, Cam Booser, Frank German, Helcris Olivarez, Jamie Westbrook, Mark Contreras, and Eddy Alvarez had previously been announced.)
This will be the first Major League spring training for Guerroro, Hagenman, Hickey, Hoppe, Meidroth, and Rosier, but for Pérez, it’s a lifeline back to the Majors. He signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox in December, but will earn a $1.4 million base salary if he makes the big-league roster. A 10-year veteran, Pérez spent the first eight seasons of his big-league career in Cleveland, where he won back-to-back Gold Gloves in ’19 and ’20. Though he’s a career .207, .655 OPS hitter, his defense makes him a solid depth signing to bolster current catching duo, Connor Wong and Reese McGuire.
With the Red Sox roster in flux in what’s shaping up to be a so-called bridge year, the non-roster invitees will have a legitimate chance to make their case. Impressing at big-league camp could also determine which top prospects earn promotions to the next level of the farm system. A strong spring training could help Yorke ascend to Triple-A for the start of the minor league season. He was Double-A Portland’s MVP last season, and he, Hickey, and Meidroth participated in Red Sox Rookie Development Program last week, the organization’s annual mini-camp for their most promising, near-debut prospects.
Likewise for Guerrero, who could figure into
