Tidying up some late arrivals, and the catchers
There have been some additions to the non-roster invitees since the original list was published. I don’t want to forget about them, so thought I’d get those written about in this installment. Here, we move from the pitchers onto the position players, and we will have a bit of both!
John Curtiss
The man with an extra S somehow signed three minor-league contracts with the Colorado Rockies last year, on January 24, May 31 and July 3. Around that, Curtisss appeared in three MLB games, allowing six earned runs over 2.1 innings. They were his seventh team since his debut in 2017, but maybe Curtissss should have stayed in Florida? Over career stints with Tampa and Miami, he has had a 2.22 ERA over 65 innings. Everywhere else? 6.80 in 43.2 innings. But Curtisssss really hasn’t been any good since the first part of 2021. He seems very much like a long-shot, and especially after the signing of Kendall Graveman, if Curtissssss is seen at Chase Field, it suggests something has gone quite wrong.
Scott McGough
Well, I did not see the return of McGough to Arizona, coming after a wretched 2024 where he had a 7.44 ERA and almost as many walks (21) as strikeouts (25), in 32.2 innings. It ended a poor two-year and sub-replacement spell with the D-backs, who found that good numbers in Japan (a 2.94 ERA over 236 games there) don’t always translate back to the majors. He was even the team’s closer for a spell in June 2023. But the reliever will probably be most remembered here not for any pitching appearance. Instead, his most memorable Arizona contribution is likely McGough striking out with the bases loaded on April 3 last year, to end an extra-inning game against the Yankees.
Shelby Miller
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Trey Mancini
Oddly, Mancini does not yet appear on the current list of non-roster invitees or team transactions. But everything indicates a done deal, so I’m including him here. There are a lot of people pulling for Mancini, and with good reason. He came back from having Stage 3 colon cancer, to help the Astros win the World Series in 2022, including a crucial stop in Game 5. Trey didn’t play at all last year, after opting out of a minor-league contract with the Marlins at the end of spring training. At this point the player, who’ll turn 33 next month, seems almost exclusively a 1B/DH type. With Josh Naylor and Pavin Smith both lefties, the right-handed Mancini might be a platoon candidate, if he can show he’s not rusty.
Christian Cerda (90)
Moving on to the catchers, the major problem for both men, is that Arizona already has four of them on the 40-man roster: Moreno, Herrera, Del Castilo and Rene Pinto. So it’s likely going to take some kind of injury, for even a backup spot with the Aces to open up. Cerda came to us from the Rays at the 2022 deadline, in exchange for David Peralta, having previously looked to sign him as an international prospect [though the 22-year-old was born in the not-so international Bronx!] The bat will need to pick up, with an OPS below ,700 last year at High-A and Double-A. But he is still young. This is definitely just a courtesy invite to come learn from the big boys, and he’ll likely start the year at Double-A again.
Aramis Garcia (68)
Garcia made his debut in 2018, but playing time has been intermittent, with just 119 major-league games played since then, and a high of 115 PA in any season. As a career .211 hitter (57 OPS+), it’s understandable. Aramis does seem to have a decent reputation on defense, though the limited data means there’s not much objective data to go on. He’s also pretty damn hardcore: In May 2023, a foul-tip meant Garcia “dislocated his right middle finger, with the bone pushing up against the skin, threatening to break through. Not only had he dislocated [it], he’d gone on to catch about 10 more pitches before the inning was over with the bone almost protruding.” More proof catchers are the toughest players out there.