According to Rob Biertempfel, the Pittsburgh Pirates have invited five more players to Spring Training. The new non-roster invitees are catchers Tony Sanchez and Eric Fryer, infielders Chase D’Arnaud and Brian Friday, and outfielder Andrew Lambo. Friday is the only one of the group that I think has any shot of making the team, although I don’t think he has a good shot, as he’s behind Pedro Ciriaco and Josh Rodriguez for the backup middle infield role.
The assignment will be good experience for Sanchez, Lambo, and D’Arnaud, although there’s no way Sanchez makes the jump to the majors, and Lambo and D’Arnaud could start the 2011 season back in Altoona. Fryer adds more catching depth, which is always important during the Spring. It will also be nice to see what he can do after a strong year at the plate in high-A last year.
The Spring Training tracker has been updated. There are now 21 non-roster invitees.
