On Monday, the Tampa Bay Rays announced invitations for five non-roster players to MLB Spring Training, including veteran utilityman Emilio Bonifacio. The other four are right-handers Ricardo Pinto, Casey Sadler, Luis Santos, and Cole Sulser.
Emilio Bonifacio
Bonifacio did not appear in the majors last year, opening the season on the indie ball circuit with Long Island (Atlantic League) and later joining the Brewers organization — playing five games for Colorado Springs. The MLB veteran slashed a modest .256 BA/.313 OBP/.333 SLG/.646 OPS line with 13 home runs across 2,894 plate appearances, with 165 RBI and 166 stolen bases over parts of 11 seasons in the majors. Bonifacio has spent of his career at second base (201 starts) and centerfield (170 starts) but also has plenty of experience at shortstop (100 starts), third base (135 starts), and both corner outfield spots (106 starts). He has played with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2007-2008), Washington Nationals (2008), Miami Marlins (2009-2012), Toronto Blue Jays (2013), Kansas City Royals (2013), Chicago Cubs (2014), Atlanta Braves (2014, 2016-2017) and Chicago White Sox (2015).
Ricardo Pinto
Pinto, 25, split time last season in the White Sox organization at Triple-A Charlotte and Class-A Winston-Salem, going 3-2 with a 5.95 ERA across 30 appearances including six starts. The right-hander made his big league debut with the Philadelphia Phillies two seasons ago, going 1-2 with a 7.89 ERA/6.36 FIP across 29-2/3 innings (25 outings).
Per Brooks Baseball, Pinto’s four-seam fastball (96 mph) has well above average velocity and results in somewhat more flyballs compared to other pitchers’ four-seamers. His changeup (88 mph) is much firmer than usual and has a lot of backspin. His sinker (95 mph) generates an extremely high number of swings & misses compared to other pitchers’ sinkers, has well above average velocity and has slight arm side run. His slider (87 mph) has primarily 12-6 movement, generates fewer whiffs/swing compared to other pitchers’ sliders and has less than expected depth. His curve (80 mph) is basically never swung at and missed compared to other pitchers’ curves, results in more flyballs compared to other pitchers’ curves, has a sharp downward bite, is slightly harder than usual and has slight glove-side movement.
Casey Sadler
The 28-year-old Sadler pitched for the Pirates in 2014 and 2015, yet suffered an elbow injury which required Tommy John surgery in November 2015. After a long recovery, the right-hander made it back to the big leagues last August. Over the three seasons, he has pitched in nine Major League games having gone 1-1, with a 6.86 ERA. Sadler remains one out away from hurling his 20th inning. He most of his 2018 campaign at Triple-A, working to a 3.39 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 across 77 innings.
Per Brooks Baseball, his sinker (93 mph) results in somewhat more flyballs compared to other pitchers’ sinkers, has slight arm side run and has some natural sinking action. His cutter (90 mph) is an extreme flyball pitch compared to other pitchers’ cutters and has slightly above average velocity. His curve (82 mph) is much harder than usual, results in more flyballs compared to other pitchers’ curves, has little depth and has slight glove-side movement. His changeup (87 mph) generates an extremely high number of swings & misses compared to other pitchers’ changeups, is much firmer than usual, results in more flyballs compared to other pitchers’ changeups, has slight arm side fade and has some natural sink to it.
Luis Santos
Santos, 27, spent parts of the last two season in Toronto, going 1–2 with a 5.15 ERA/50.4 FIP over 25 appearances (36-2/3 IP). Last season, the right-hander pitched in 15 games (one start) in three stints with Toronto, going 1-1 with a 7.20 ERA, notching 20 strikeouts. Santos spent the remainder of the season in Triple-A, going 2-3 with a 2.74 ERA (42-2/3 IP) with 40 strikeouts across 20 appearances (two starts).
Per Brooks Baseball, Santos’ four-seam fastball (94 mph) generates an extremely high number of swings & misses compared to other pitchers’ four-seamers, results in more flyballs compared to other pitchers’ four-seamers and has slightly above average velocity. His curve (84 mph) is thrown extremely hard, has very little depth, has primarily 12-6 movement and results in somewhat more flyballs compared to other pitchers’ curves. His changeup (87 mph) generates a high number of swings & misses compared to other pitchers’ changeups, is much firmer than usual, has slight armside fade and has some natural sink to it. His sinker (94 mph) generates an extremely high number of swings & misses compared to other pitchers’ sinkers, is an extreme flyball pitch compared to other pitchers’ sinkers, has slight armside run, has slightly above average velo and has some natural sinking action.
Cole Sulser
The 28-year-old Susler went 20-26 with a 4.02 ERA (378-1/3) in 176 appearances (37 starts) across five minor league seasons in the Cleveland organization. Last season, Sulser split his time between Triple-A Columbus and Double-A Akron, going 8-4 with a 3.86 ERA (60-2/3 IP), performing to a 14.1 K/9 across 47 appearances.