With pitchers and catchers scheduled to report in two weeks, the Mariners announced a list of 32 players not on their 40-man roster who were invited to major-league spring training in Peoria, Arizona.
That number could increase in the coming days if the Mariners sign more players to minor-league contracts.
“Our group of spring invitees offer us an exciting mix of top prospects and experienced players who have the potential to make an immediate impact,” said general manager Justin Hollander said. “This group is a great complement to our major-league roster in spring camp.”
The invitees include 15 pitchers and 17 position players (14 of them have played in the majors).
Glancing at Baseball America’s recently released Top 10 prospects in the Mariners organization, five of those players earned non-roster invites, including No. 1 prospect Harry Ford and right-handed pitchers Bryce Miller (No. 3), Emerson Hancock (No. 5), Taylor Dollard (No. 6) and Bryan Woo (No. 7).
Ford (No. 64) and Miller (No. 100) were both in Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects in all of baseball.
The full list of invites:
Pitchers
- Taylor Dollard, RHP
- Emerson Hancock, RHP
- Travis Kuhn, RHP
- Darren McCaughan, RHP
- Bryce Miller, RHP
- Riley O’Brien, RHP
- Jose Rodriguez, RHP
- Ryder Ryan, RHP
- Casey Sadler, RHP
- Taylor Williams, RHP
- Bryan Woo, RHP
- Nick Margevicius, LHP
- Tommy Milone, LHP
- Justus Sheffield, LHP
- Blake Weiman, LHP
Catchers
- Jake Anchia
- Harry Gord
- Jacob Nottingham
- Brian O’Keefe
- Matt Scheffler
Infielders
- Jose Caballero
- Drew Ellis
- Mike Ford
- Mason McCoy
- Colin Moran
- Kaden Polcovich
- Leo Rivas
- Jake Scheiner
Outfielders
- Zach DeLoach
- Jack Larsen
- Robert Perez
- Alberto Rodriguez
Also, the Mariners did some 40-man-roster maneuvering, claiming left-handed reliever Tayler Saucedo, a former standout for Tahoma High School, off waivers from the Mets. To make room, they designated right-hander J.B. Bukauskas for assignment.
Saucedo, 29, was a waiver claim by the Mets last week after being designated for assignment by the Blue Jays in November.
He’s made 33 MLB relief appearances (29 in 2021 and four in 2022), posting a 0-0 record with a 5.40 earned-run average. In 28 1/3 innings, he struck out 19 batters and walked 11. He’s been effective against left-handed hitters, holding them to a .182/.280/.296 slash line.
Saucedo was born in Honolulu and grew up in Maple Valley. After a strong senior season, he pitched for Tacoma Community College for two seasons before transferring to Tennessee Wesleyan. He was a 21st-round pick by the Blue Jays in 2015.
Bukauskas, 26, appeared in 23 games with Triple-A Reno and two games in the Arizona Complex League, posting an 0-1 record with a 2.42 ERA (6 ER, 22.1 IP), 22 strikeouts and four walks in 2022.
He started the season on the 60-day injured list with a grade 2 teres major muscle strain before being activated on July 20. He also missed time on the seven-day injured list from Aug. 5-17. He was later designated for assignment by Arizona on Jan. 11, 2023.
A first-round pick of the Houston Astros (15th overall) in the 2017 MLB first-year player draft out of the University of North Carolina, Bukauskas was originally a starting pitcher but struggled to stay healthy and was eventually traded.