Orioles announce 2025 spring training non-roster invitees

On Thursday afternoon, the Orioles officially announced the group of non-roster invitees they're taking to Florida for spring training. There are a few interesting names in the group, including top prospects Samuel Basallo and Enrique Bradfield Jr. In total, 26 players will join the group of guys already on the 40-man down in Sarasota.

Shockingly, we're basically already there. Orioles pitchers and catchers have a report date of February 13, which is just a week from today. The first full-squad workout is scheduled for the following Tuesday, February 18. Photo day is scheduled for February 19, and the first spring training game, where the O's will face off against the Pirates, will take place on Saturday, February 22.

As far as the 2025 non-roster invitees go, Basallo and Bradfield are the two most notable prospects in the group. There are also a number of guys who have previous major league experience, such as Livan Soto, Nick Gordon, and pitcher Thaddeus Ward.

Orioles send 26 non-roster invitees to spring training in 2025

The group also includes fan favorite infielder Terrin Vavra, who was just brought back on a minor league deal earlier this week. Vavra has been a solid minor league depth guy but his plate presence hasn't translated well to major league action. He'll hope to change that in 2025, and he'll get a chance against major league arms right away.

Also included in the group is starter Justin Armbruester, who has looked promising at times but really fell apart in 2024. The righty posted a 7.54 ERA in 119.1 innings with the Triple-A Tides last year, which certainly isn't encouraging. This trip to Florida might be one of his final opportunities to get his career headed in the right direction. If he can't, he might be on the way out of the Orioles system sooner rather than later.

The chances of any of these guys making the Orioles roster out of camp is quite low. It's always a possibility that someone on the 40-man gets injured and one of the non-roster guys gets bumped up as a replacement. But just based on performance, it'll take quite a bit to get any of the guys in this group over the hump.

It's a near certainty that none of the outfielders will do so, despite there being some interesting names in the group. In addition to Bradfield, prospects Jud Fabian and Dylan Beavers will be present, as will recent additions Jordyn Adams and Franklin Barreto. As the Orioles already have a full outfield, spring training will be more of a showcase event where this group will get to face live pitchers for the first time in several months.

The infield group is much the same. Barring injury, none of Vavra, Gordon, Soto, Vimael Machin, or Jeremiah Jackson will join the Orioles on Opening Day. Unlike the outfield group though, there's much less upside with this group of infielders. Regardless of what happens, we're nearly there. Baseball is set to return in just a few short weeks.