The Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday announced a batch of non-roster invitees to Spring Training, with the organization’s top position player prospects Cody Bellinger, Willie Calhoun and Alex Verdugo headlining the 21 players.
The group also included recent additions Brandon Morrow and Bobby Wilson. The relief pitcher and catcher were each signed to Minor League deals. Like other clubs, the Dodgers presumably will add to their list of non-roster invitees in the weeks ahead.
According to Matt Eddy of Baseball America and Eric Stephen of True Blue LA, Ike Davis was signed to a Minor League pact and will join the Dodgers in big league camp:
#Dodgers sign 1B Ike Davis and RHP Brandon Morrow to minor league deals.
— Matt Eddy (@MattEddyBA) January 27, 2017
Ike Davis gets a non-roster invitation to spring training, bringing total to 22 NRIs in Dodgers camp
— Eric Stephen (@truebluela) January 27, 2017
Davis spent last season with the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees organizations, though only appeared in six Major League games for New York from June 14-19.
Over 65 combined games with Triple-A Round Rock (Rangers affiliate) and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Yankees), he hit .248/.337/.419 with 13 doubles, nine home runs and 41 RBI.
After being designated for assignment and sent outright to Triple-A at the end of June, Davis was released by the Yankees on Aug. 10 and didn’t play professionally for the remainder of the year.
Over parts of seven seasons with the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics and Yankees, Davis is a batting a career .239/.332/.414 with 117 doubles, 81 home runs, 291 RBI and a 107 OPS+.
Assuming Davis does not make the Dodgers roster out of camp but doesn’t opt out of his deal, the 29-year-old presumably will serve as depth for Triple-A Oklahoma City and insurance if Adrian Gonzalez is lost to injury for a prolonged stretch.
