Phillies invite 15 non-roster players to spring training

The Phillies announced Thursday that they’ve invited 15 players to spring training as non-roster invitees.

Seven are pitchers, all right-handers: Mick Abel, Griff McGarry, Jose Ruiz, Ryan Burr, Tyler McKay, Tyler Phillips and Nick Snyder.

Three are catchers: Aramis Garcia, Cody Roberts and William Simoneit.

Two are infielders: Scott Kingery and Nick Podkul.

Three are outfielders: Carlos De La Cruz, Matt Kroon and Cal Stevenson.

These are all players under Phillies control who are not on the 40-man roster. Abel and McGarry, two of the Phillies' top pitching prospects, will have to be added to the 40 after the 2024 season to be protected from the next Rule 5 draft.

Abel was the Phillies’ first-round pick in 2020, the highest high school arm selected (15th overall). He entered last season as a Top 50 prospect by Baseball America and MLB.com and went on to make 23 starts — 22 at Double A and one at Triple A — while also starting for the National League in the Futures Game. The 22-year-old posted a 4.13 with 132 strikeouts and 65 walks in 113⅓ innings.

The Phillies will want to see better control from Abel in 2024. He’s their No. 2-ranked prospect behind Andrew Painter, who is likely out until 2025 after undergoing Tommy John surgery last July. Abel figures to spend a good portion of 2024 at Triple A.

McGarry, like Abel, opened last spring training as a distant candidate in the Phillies’ fifth starter competition, which was eventually won by default by Bailey Falter after Painter’s elbow injury on the first day of March. There will be no fifth starter battle this spring, barring an injury to Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Taijuan Walker, Ranger Suarez or Cristopher Sanchez.

The 24-year-old McGarry began last season on the IL because of an oblique injury, then made 13 starts at Double A and struck out 74 batters in 52.2 innings with a 3.13 ERA, though he walked 36.

He was promoted to Triple A in early August and the results were disastrous: 14 walks and 20 earned runs allowed in just 4⅓ innings. He was placed on the development list later in the month.

The Phillies are still saying they see McGarry as a starting pitcher long-term, but his best role may come as a hard-throwing late-inning reliever. Control is obviously the key for him in 2024, as well.

Notes on the other pitchers:

Jose Ruiz (29): Has amassed 212 big-league appearances in parts of seven seasons with the White Sox, Diamondbacks and Padres. Ruiz has a 4.51 career ERA and pitched for Team Venezuela in last year's World Baseball Classic.

Ryan Burr (29): Spent parts of four seasons with the White Sox from 2018-22. His most work came in 2021 when he pitched to a 2.45 ERA in 34 appearances.

Tyler McKay (26): The Phillies' 16th-round pick in 2018, McKay made big strides in 2023 with a 2.60 ERA and better than a strikeout per inning in 48 relief appearances split between Double A and Triple A.

Tyler Phillips (26): Made 25 starts last season for Reading and Lehigh Valley with modest results. Will be in camp to provide depth.

Nick Snyder (28): Hard-throwing reliever who hit triple-digits in the majors with the Rangers three seasons ago but missed all of 2023 with a shoulder injury. He's struck out 11.1 batters per nine innings in the minors.

CATCHERS

Aramis Garcia (31): Will be in camp with the Phillies as a non-roster invitee for the second straight season. Garcia has 320 major-league plate appearances with the Giants, Reds and A's. He hit .251/.295/.523 at Triple A last season with 14 home runs and 11 doubles in 210 PA.

Cody Roberts (27): Started 53 games behind the plate for Reading last season.

William Simoneit (27): The Phillies' selection in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 draft in December. Simoneit had been with Oakland. A career .259/.359/.409 hitter in nearly 1,000 minor-league plate appearances.

INFIELDERS

Scott Kingery (29): The Phillies retained Kingery's rights after declining the option on his contract for 2024. They bought that contract out for $1 million rather than pay Kingery $13 million this season. He remained under team control under the original minor-league contract he signed with the Phillies after first being drafted. He hit .244 with a .725 OPS at Triple A last season.

Nick Podkul (26): Originally a seventh-round pick out of Notre Dame by the Blue Jays in 2018. Produced offensively at Reading and Lehigh Valley as a corner infielder last season, hitting .284/.407/.584 in 231 plate appearances.

OUTFIELDERS

Carlos De La Cruz (24): The lanky 6-foot-8 outfielder/first baseman stood out to Phillies fans last spring training with his frame and ability to drive the ball. He hit .259/.344/.454 with 25 doubles and 24 homers at Double A last season. Rated by Baseball America as the Phillies' No. 6 prospect.

Matt Kroon (27): The Phillies' 18th-round pick in 2018 out of Oklahoma State. He hit .326 with a .925 OPS across three levels last season, including a .381 clip in 15 games at Triple A.

Cal Stevenson (27): Claimed off waivers from the Giants last May. Hit .271 with 46 walks and 45 strikeouts for Lehigh Valley.