Kansas City Royals: Profiling the nineteen 2019 Non-Roster Invitees

The Kansas City Royals announced early Tuesday their list of Non-Roster Invitees for Spring Training. The list contains a total of nineteen players.

Although Spring Training still feels so far away, the Kansas City Royals‘ list of Non-Roster Invitees was released Tuesday. Though it is sort of a long shot for any of these guys to crack even the 40-man roster by Opening Day, they’ll head to Spring Training alongside those who currently hold a spot.

For the 2018 season, the Kansas City Royals also invited nineteen players to Spring Training who were not on the roster. Last year’s non-roster invites included speedster Terrance Gore who now resides on the 40-man roster, utility player Cody Asche, and Frank Schwindel.

Schwindel will travel to Spring Training again this season as a non-roster invitee, along with fellow infielder Nicky Lopez and three others. From an outfield perspective, perhaps the most interesting name is Bubba Starling. Starling has battled injuries throughout his career, so it is up in the air what may happen in the 2019 season for him.

MJ Melendez headlines a group of four catchers heading to Spring Training, and there are several talented pitchers on the list. One is Richard Lovelady, who is likely to earn major league time again in the 2019 season, as well as Michael Ynoa who very recently signed a minor league deal with the Royals.

There is still a lot of time until the season officially begins (I know…depressing) and a lot of things could happen between now and then. Plus, with the dismal season the Kansas City Royals had last year, roster shifting is a possibility.