Diaz headlines 18 non-roster players invited to Orioles camp

The Orioles have invited 18 non-roster players to spring training, and on that list are some familiar names, and some that won’t be.

Three players who were obtained from the Los Angeles Dodgers in July’s trade for Manny Machado, outfielder Yusniel Diaz and right-handed pitchers Dean Kremer and Zach Pop, are the most intriguing.

Outfielder Ryan McKenna, who hit .377 for High-A Frederick in the first half of the season before his promotion to Double-A Bowie, where he hit .239 in the second half.

A familiar name in the Orioles’ system, Mike Yastrzemski, gets his first invitation to major league camp after five years in the organization. Yastrzemski, the grandson of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski, has played for Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk since 2014.

Diaz batted .239 in 39 games with the Baysox. Kremer was 4-2 with a 2.58 ERA in eight games in Bowie while Pop was 1-1 with a 2.53 ERA and one save for the Baysox.

Ryan Mountcastle is a spring training invitee for the second straight year. Mountcastle, whose defense will be under scrutiny during spring training, hit .297 with 13 home runs and 59 RBIs for Bowie.

Three members of last year’s Orioles, who were outrighted and signed to minor league contracts, infielder Jace Peterson, left-handed pitcher Sean Gilmartin and catcher Andrew Susac, will also be on hand.

Peterson, who will compete for a job as an extra infielder, batted .195 with three home runs and 28 RBIs. He played six positions, including an inning on the mound.

Gilmartin was 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 12 games. Susac hit .115 in nine games.

Gabriel Ynoa, who missed last season because of injuries, will track and restart his career. In nine games, four of them starts, with the Orioles in 2017, Ynoa was 2-3 with a 4.15 ERA.

Left-hander Chris Lee, who had been in major league spring training in 2017 and 2018, returns on a minor league contract. Lee, whose career has been hampered by injuries, was 1-4 with a 6.75 ERA in 18 games with Norfolk, Bowie and Gulf Coast.

Thirty-one year-old Gregory Infante, who is 3-2 with a 3.56 ERA in 67 games with the Chicago White Sox in three seasons, gets a major league invite.

So does 33-year-old Bo Schultz, who is 0-3 with a 4.54 ERA in 51 games with Arizona and Toronto from 2014-16. Both Infante and Schultz are right-handers.

Josh Lucas, a 28-year-old right-hander drafted by St. Louis when general manager Mike Elias was in the Cardinals’ organization, will come to Sarasota, too. Lucas has a 5.40 ERA in 13 games over the last two seasons with St. Louis and Oakland.

Catcher Martin Cervenka, who hit .258 with 15 homers and 60 RBIs, will go to major league camp for the first time. He’ll be joined by Carlos Perez, who has a reputation as an outstanding defensive catcher. Perez has a .215 lifetime average in four seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, Texas and Atlanta.

Infielders Chris Bostick and Zach Vincej also get major league inviaitons. Bostick, who can also play the outfield, has a .256 average in 35 games with Pittsburgh and Miami in 2017 and 2018. Vincej has played in 10 major leagues games over the last two seasons with Cincinnati and Seattle.

The 18 invitees boost the Orioles spring training roster to 58.

Pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota on Feb. 12. The full-squad report date is Feb. 17.

No Logo for Mussina

The Hall of Fame announced that Mike Mussina, who was elected on Tuesday, will have no team logo on his plaque.

Mussina, whose career was almost equally divided between the Orioles and New York Yankees, is hardly the first player to enter the Hall of Fame with a logo on their cap.