Phillies invite 12 non-roster invitees to spring training

One day ahead of pitchers and catchers reporting to Clearwater, the Philadelphia Phillies released their spring training non-roster invitees.

The Phillies announced their invites as part of two lists: one being part of major league spring training, and one being part of the planned mini-camp populated by minor leaguers.

Players joining the Phillies at major league spring training include righties Neftali Feliz, Brandon Kintzler, Bryan Mitchell, Iván Nova, Héctor Rondón, and Michael Ynoa; catchers Christian Bethancourt, Rodolfo Durán and Jeff Mathis; infielder Ronald Torreyes; and outfielders Travis Jankowski and Matt Joyce.

While many of these players had been previously announced, Jeff Mathis is a new addition to an already crowded Phililes camp.

Matthis, 37, is highly valued for his spectacular defense. However, his struggles at the plate are well documented. Throughout his career Mathis has struggled to crack the Mendoza Line and holds a career batting average of .194.

Many of these players will have to get hot in the Grapefruit League to have any shot to make the opening day roster.

One player who may have a better chance is right-handed reliever Brandon Kintzler. Kintzler, who pitched for Miami in 2020, impressed in 24 outings last year, posting a 2.22 ERA. While advanced stats claim Kintzler overperformed his 5.00 FIP, his 2.55 ERA since 2019 makes him a good candidate to make the opening day bullpen.

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