The Phillies announced that 15 non-roster players have been invited to spring training, so far.  The Phillies made the bulk announcement early on Thursday.   Last year, the Phillies invited 24 non-roster players to spring training, 5 were invited when they signed, the other 19 in a bulk announcement later.

The drop off isn’t too severe when you consider that the Phillies have a pretty established roster. It’s hard to lure players to the organization as depth when there is little chance of a call up to the bigs.

This year’s invitees include –

• RHP (7) – Mick Abel, Ryan Burr, Griff McGarry, Tyler McKay, Tyler Phillips, Jose Ruiz, and Nick Snyder
•  C (3) – Aramis Garcia, Cody Roberts, and William Simoneit
• INF (2) – Scott Kingery and Nick Podkul
• OF (3) – Carlos De La Cruz, Matt Kroon and Cal Stevenson

While the players on the 40-man roster could be expected to provide the first line of depth if needed during the season, some of these guys might surprise us with an appearance if the need arises.  Abel and Phillips provide starter depth and might make the jump if they carry good springs into their minor league assignments.  I don’t know about Burr, Ruiz, and Snyder but McGarry might find renewed success with his new delivery.  I already tabbed McKay as a possible surprise contributor.  Garcia is highly thought of and might even be the first catcher up in an emergency.  Kingery checks a lot of the boxes as a utility player that the Phillies are currently seeking.  If he hits in the spring and carries that over to Lehigh Valley, who knows, maybe.  And Kroon might provide outfield help if he maintains the stroke he’s had in ’21 and ’23.  His career had some helium until an injury in ’22 ended his season before it really got started.  Kroon opened some eyes during 2022 spring training going 2 for 7 with 2 HRs in 5 appearances.

Anyway, there is some depth in the system even if the Phillies don’t sign any more minor leaguers.

If you didn’t see the Phillies announcement, here are the write ups the Phillies provided on their site.

Mick Abel, RHP – The 22-year-old made 23 combined starts last season between double-A Reading and triple-A Lehigh Valley and tallied 132 strikeouts in 113.1 innings pitched, while holding the 482 batters he faced to a .192 batting average. He allowed three earned runs or fewer in 18 of his 23 starts last year, two earned runs or fewer in 17 of 23 and one earned run or none in 12 of 23. Born in Portland, Ore., Abel was the starting pitcher for the National League in the 2023 All-Star Futures Game and earned the win with a scoreless inning and two strikeouts. He was also named an MiLB.com Organization All-Star. The 15^th overall selection by the Phillies in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft, Abel is ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the Phillies minor league system, and No. 45 in baseball, by MLB Pipeline.

Ryan Burr, RHP – A veteran of parts of four major league seasons (2018-19; 21-22), Burr spent 2023 in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. He made 17 relief appearances and one start for triple-A Durham and posted a 3.09 ERA (8 ER, 23.1 IP), 7.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio (23 SO, 3 BB) and 0.99 WHIP (20 H). Burr last pitched in the majors in 2022, his fourth and final season with the Chicago White Sox. In 66 career major league games (two starts), all with the White Sox, he has a 4.08 ERA (34 ER, 75.0 IP). A native of Highlands Ranch, Colo., he was originally selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fifth round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of Arizona State University, where he is the school’s all-time record holder with 38 career saves.

Carlos De La Cruz, OF – The 24-year-old spent the 2023 season with double-A Reading, where he earned Eastern League Postseason All-Star honors after slashing .259/.344/.454 over 129 games. A native of Yonkers, N.Y., De La Cruz led the EL in hits (132) and total bases (231), finished second in extra-base hits (50) and runs scored (80) and tied for third in home runs (24). From May 12 through June 25, he posted a 38-game on-base streak (.897 OPS) which was the longest such streak in the EL in 2023 and the longest for a Reading player since 2009. Originally signed by the Phillies as a non-drafted free agent on Aug. 23, 2017, De La Cruz enters the 2024 season rated the best power hitter in the club’s minor league system by Baseball America and the No. 6 prospect in the system as rated by MLB.com.

Aramis Garcia, C – Garcia, 31, spent his first year in the Phillies organization with triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2023. The Hialeah, Fla., native slashed .251/.295/.523 over 53 games for the IronPigs with 25 of his 49 hits going for extra bases. Defensively, he appeared in 49 games at catcher with 48 starts. Garcia, who was a non-roster invitee to Phillies major league spring training in 2023, was originally selected by the San Francisco Giants in the second round of the 2014 MLB Draft.

Scott Kingery, INF/OF – Kingery, 29, spent last season with triple-A Lehigh Valley where he slashed .244/.325/.400 in 117 games. His 68 runs scored for the IronPigs were second-most on the club and he was successful in 24 of his 25 (96.0%) stolen base attempts while setting an IronPigs franchise record with 23 consecutive stolen bases. Defensively, he appeared in 64 games at shortstop, 37 at second base and 18 in center field. A native of Phoenix, Ariz., Kingery was originally selected by the Phillies in the second round of the 2015 MLB Draft.

Matt Kroon, OF – A native of Scottsdale, Ariz., Kroon began the 2023 season with double-A Reading where he led the Eastern League with a .319 batting average over 79 games. Named an Organization All-Star by MiLB.com, Kroon, 27, was promoted to triple-A Lehigh Valley in August, where he hit safely in his first 13 games. Overall, his 31 doubles in 2023 were tied for the lead among all Phillies minor leaguers. Originally selected by the Phillies in the 18th round of the 2018 MLB Draft, Kroon appeared in 18 games for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League following the season.

Griff McGarry, RHP – McGarry, 24, pitched exclusively as a starter last season, making 17 starts and averaging 12.15 strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched (81 SO, 60.0 IP). He pitched across three levels, making starts for single-A Clearwater (one), double-A Reading (13) and triple-A Lehigh Valley (three). He was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Month in July as he went 1-1 with a 2.01 ERA (5 ER, 22.1 IP) and 32 strikeouts. On July 21 at Altoona, he picked up the win with 7.0 scoreless innings, no walks and 10 strikeouts. McGarry, born in San Francisco, Calif., was a fifth-round selection by the Phillies in the 2021 MLB Draft out of the University of Virginia.

Tyler McKay, RHP – McKay, 26, pitched in relief last year between two levels, double-A Reading and triple-A Lehigh Valley. He combined to post a 2.60 ERA (16 ER, 55.1 IP) in 48 games with eight saves, 56 strikeouts and only three home runs allowed. In nine games during the month of June for Reading, he posted a 1.74 ERA (2 ER, 10.1 IP) with 15 strikeouts to one walk and converted all three of his save opportunities. McKay, a native of Lee’s Summit, Mo., was a 16^th-round selection by the Phillies in the 2018 MLB Draft out of Howard Junior College (Texas).

Tyler Phillips, RHP – Phillips, 6 feet five inches tall, made 26 appearances (25 starts) in 2023 between double-A Reading and triple-A Lehigh Valley and posted a 5.72 ERA (67 ER, 122.2 IP). Following a July promotion to Lehigh Valley, he posted a 3.38 ERA (13 ER, 34.2 IP) over his first seven starts with the IronPigs while limiting the 156 batters he faced to a .336 slugging percentage and only one home run allowed. A graduate of Bishop Eustace Prep in Pennsauken, N.J., Phillips was originally selected in the 16^th round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers before being claimed off waivers by the Phillies on July 24, 2021.

Nick Podkul, INF – Podkul, 26, spent the majority of the 2023 season – his first in the Phillies organization – with double-A Reading, where he slashed .285/.396/.588 in 45 games. He reached base safely in each of his first 19 games of the season from April 20 through June 1. In July, Podkul was promoted to triple-A Lehigh Valley and hit .280 (7-25) over eight games with the IronPigs before missing the remainder of the season due to injury. A native of Munster, Ind., Podkul was originally selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the seventh round of the 2018 MLB Draft.

Cody Roberts, C – Roberts, 27, played 72 games last season for double-A Reading and slashed .214/.277/.349 in 239 plate appearances. In 17 games during the month of June, he posted a .778 OPS in 52 plate appearances with 11 runs scored. For the Fightins, he started 53 games at catcher, five games in right field, three games as designated hitter and two games in left field. Born in Johns Creek, Ga., Roberts was originally selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 11^th round of the 2018 MLB Draft before being selected by the Phillies in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 7, 2022.

José Ruiz, RHP – A veteran of 212 major league appearances, Ruiz has pitched for the San Diego Padres (2017), Chicago White Sox (2018-23) and Arizona Diamondbacks (2023). A native of Guacara, Venezuela, he pitched for Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic last season and went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA (4.1 IP) in three games. He began the year with the White Sox before being traded to the Diamondbacks on April 9. With Arizona, he posted a 3.20 ERA (9 ER, 25.1 IP) with 25 strikeouts over his first 22 games before he was outrighted to triple-A Reno on July 30. With Reno, he averaged 11.28 strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched over 17 appearances (4 starts). He was originally signed by the Padres as an amateur free agent on July 2, 2011.

William Simoneit, C – Acquired by the Phillies in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 6, 2023, Simoneit, 27, spent last season in the Oakland Athletics organization and played in 72 games for double-A Midland. Over 289 plate appearances he slashed .237/.326/.387 with a .714 OPS and 23 extra-base hits. Simoneit was signed by the Athletics as a non-drafted free agent in 2020 out of Wake Forest University. Born in Park Ridge, Ill., he spent four seasons at Cornell University, earning All-Ivy League honors in his final three seasons before transferring to Wake Forest as a graduate student.

Nick Snyder, RHP – Snyder, 28, did not pitch last season due to a right shoulder injury. Originally selected by the Texas Rangers in 19^th round of the 2017 MLB Draft out of Indian River State College (Fla.), Snyder was named the Rangers Minor League Reliever of the Year in 2021 after posting a 2.73 ERA (9 ER, 33.0 IP) with 47 strikeouts to five walks across three minor league levels. A native of Palm City, Fla., he made his major league debut on Aug. 21, 2021 against the Boston Red Sox and struck out J.D. Martinez for his first major league strikeout. He eclipsed 100 miles per hour with his fastball 11 times for the Rangers in 2021.

Cal Stevenson, OF – A native of Fremont, Calif., Stevenson has played in 29 major league games over two seasons, 23 games in 2022 with the Oakland Athletics and six games in 2023 with the San Francisco Giants. He was claimed off waivers by the Phillies from the Giants on May 26, 2023. In 76 triple-A games last season between three different organizations, he slashed .255/.413/.412 in 289 plate appearances and started games at all three outfield positions. In 56 games for triple-A Lehigh Valley he posted a .437 on-base percentage and a .472 slugging percentage across 202 plate appearances. On Sept. 20 against Worcester, he tied an IronPigs franchise record with four walks. He was originally selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 10^th round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of the University of Arizona.