Pirates Invite 15 Non-Roster Players To Spring Training
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The Pittsburgh Pirates have invited 15 non-roster players to their Spring Training workouts in Bradenton, Fla., according to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
Some notable players the Pirates invited are INF Garrett Atkins, P Fernando Nieve, INF Andy Marte.
Atkins has played eight season in the majors with seven of them in Colorado. He has a career .285 batting average, 99 home runs and 488 RBIs. The past two seasons, Atkins has been on a decline, only playing 44 games last season for the Baltimore Orioles
Nieve played for the New York Mets the past two season. While with the Mets, he had a 5-7 record with a 4.58 ERA in 78.2 innings.
Marte, drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 2000, spent the last five seasons with the Cleveland Indians. He comes into spring training with a 20 career home runs, 96 RBIs and a .218 BA. Marte has not played in more than 80 games in his six seasons in the majors.
Pitchers & catchers report Feb. 14 with the remaining players reporting Feb. 19. The first spring training game for the Pirates will be on Sunday, Feb. 27 against the Tampa Bay Rays.
