Two weeks after voluntary minicamp was held at Pirate City, the Pirates have finally announced their non-roster invitees for spring training, a group of 23 players that includes new acquisitions and prospects.
Outfielders Jason Martin and Bryan Reynolds, acquired in the Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen trades, headline a group that also includes shortstops Kevin Newman and Cole Tucker.
Pitchers and catchers report for spring training on Feb. 12 with the first workout held two days later. Position players report Feb. 18, and the first squad workout is set for Feb. 19.
Martin, 22, was acquired from the Astros after batting a combined .278/.332/.487 with 35 doubles, five triples, 18 home runs, 66 RBI and 16 stolen bases in 125 games between High-A Buies Creek and Double-A Corpus Christi this past season. He's now ranked by MLB.com as the Pirates' No. 19 prospect.
Reynolds, 22, was ranked by Baseball America as the Giants' No. 5 prospect this offseason and is expected to begin 2018 with Double-A Altoona. However, the switch-hitter will get a chance to prove himself in big league camp.
Reynolds was drafted in the second round by the Giants in 2016 after he batted .330/.461/.603 with 13 home runs in 62 games for Vanderbilt. He then had an impressive showing at both short-season Salem-Keizer and Low-A Augusta to finish the year.
Reynolds moved on to High-A San Jose in 2017, batting .312/.364/.462 with 10 home runs in 121 games, and he represented the Giants in the Futures Game in July.
Newman was a first-round pick of the Pirates in 2015 and batted ..267/.311/.363 in 122 games between Double-A and Triple-A this past season. The 24-year-old was a non-roster invitee last spring and played 82 games with Altoona before being promoted to Indianapolis.
Tucker, 21, was outstanding at High-A Bradenton this past season. He batted .285/.364/.426 with 15 doubles, six triples, 32 RBI, 34 walks to 70 strikeouts and 36 stolen bases. The former first-round pick was promoted to Double-A Altoona in late July and although he batted just .257 in 42 games, he had impressive plate discipline and used his speed on the bases to make an impact.
Tucker will likely return to Altoona at the start of the season.
Second baseman Kevin Kramer, a second-round pick in 2015, was also invited to major league camp. The 24-year-old left-handed hitter was limited to 53 games at Double-A Altoona because of injury this past season, batting .297/.380/.500.
Todd Cunningham, a minor league free agent, was the only other outfielder invited. He'll be joined by four catchers — Jin-De Jhang, Christian Kelley, Ryan Lavarnway and Jackson Williams — as well as three other infielders: Erich Weiss, Eric Wood and Pablo Reyes.
Although the club did not announce the move, Lavarnway, 30, was signed as a minor league free agent. He's appeared in 140 major league games for the Red Sox, Orioles, Braves and Athletics.
Lavarnway appeared in only six games for the Athletics last season, going 3 for 11 at the plate. He played in 82 games at Triple-A Sacramento, where he batted just .239 with 26 RBI.
The right-handed hitter appeared in a career-high 46 games for the Red Sox in 2012. With Chris Stewart gone and Elias Diaz likely to serve as Francisco Cervelli's backup, the Pirates are quite thin at catcher.
Jacob Stallings remains on the 40-man roster, but an injury in the major leagues would cause serious issues. The position is so thin that only one catcher — Kelley — attended voluntary workouts last week in Bradenton.
The 10 pitchers on the list: Tyler Eppler, Yeudy Garcia, Tyler Jones, Damien Magnifico, Brett McKinney, Alex McRae, Richard Rodriguez, Casey Sadler, Bo Schultz and John Stilson.