Morning Rundown: Non-Roster Invites, Justin Turner signs, Pirates sign minor league pitcher
Pirates invite 13 prospects to major league camp, Justin Turner lands with new team, and the Pirates make a minor league signing.
With the start of training camp right around the corner, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced that 13 players would attend as non-roster invitees on Tuesday.
Of the group, seven were hitters and the other six pitchers, with the group featuring some of the best prospects in the system.
INF Andres Alvarez
C Carter Bins
SS Jack Brannigan
RHP Bubba Chandler
OF Matt Gorski
C Abrahan Gutierrez
RHP Thomas Harrington
2B Termarr Johnson
RHP Jared Jones
1B/OF Joe Perez
RHP Paul Skenes
LHP Anthony Solometo
RHP Sean Sullivan
Among the names getting invites is first-overall pick Paul Skenes. A more detailed breakdown of the group will come later today.
The Toronto Blue Jays signed Justin Turner to a one-year contract on Tuesday worth $13 million.
Turner, 39, spent last year with the Boston Red Sox, hitting 23 home runs and driving in 96 runs, which led to a 114 wRC+. He spent the previous nine years with the Los Angeles Dodgers after breaking into the majors with the Baltimore Orioles.
He has 187 home runs in over 1500 career games in the majors.
The Pirates have signed left-handed relief pitcher Brady Feigl, according to John Dreker.
He’s a 33-year-old pitcher last pitched in the minors in 2019 but posted a 0.68 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 13.1 innings playing winter ball in the Dominican.
Yesterday’s feature was a look at Lonnie White Jr. and his explosive upside. Injuries slowed down the start of his pro career but he was able to flash his loud toolset in Bradenton in 2023. Staying healthy and making more contact will be key for White in what could be a breakout 2024.
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I might be desperate for any kind of Pirate's major league roster news, but the suspense over the needed move to formally sign Chapman is killing me. I think that signing was reported last Monday, but still hasn't been announced. Possible causes of the delay:
1. They're waiting until they can move someone to the 60-day
2. They're working on some sort of trade --- with each passing day I keep mentally adding additional teams to the trade so now it's a 6-team trade involving 27 players (25 of which will be lottery tickets)
3. They keep leaving messages for Alika Williams but he won't return their calls
4. Chapman failed his physical
5. Chapman realized he signed with the Pirates and changed his mind
6. The check bounced
The Pirates also apparently signed a RHP named Chris Gau to a MiL deal. BA's monthly transactions pages show him being released by the Rays and signed by the Pirates over the last month or two, but MiLB.com doesn't have any of this, so who knows. He's done very well in the lower minors but not so much in AAA. He's already 27 and hasn't even pitched very much in AAA yet, so he looks like upper level depth.