our look at the position player non-roster invitees."Abraham AlmonteOne of the more experienced non-roster invitees http://www.oriolesfanproshop.com/authentic-j.j.-hardy-jersey , Almonte has played 352 games over six seasons in the majors. Most of those were for Cleveland, but he has been quite nomadic, also appearing for Seattle, San Diego and Kansas City, after originally being a Yankees’ prospect. The results haven’t been there though, with an OPS+ of just 71 over the last three years, and overall bWAR of 0.1 in 186 games. However, he is generally seen as been good defensively - though we already have Socrates Brito and Jarrod Dyson, if we want all glove and no bat outfielders. He’s a recovering alcoholic, having turned to drink after the death of his father, then his addiction was exacerbated by a shoulder injury in 2010 and the resulting time off. He said, “People think they can control it. They think everything is fine. But one day you find out that you’re not. You’re just lying to yourself. For months. For years. Then, when you find out, you have two choices: You change and do better, or you just keep doing it, keep lying to yourself, keep killing yourself.” Almonte changed, giving up the booze - but was suspended for 80 games in February 2016, after testing positive for the steroid Boldenone. Juniel QuerecutoAn 80 baseball name, the 26-year-old Venezuelan infielder was a Rays prospect, making his MLB debut for them as a September call-up in 2016. His father, Juan, was a veteran of the game at home, playing 13 seasons for the Cardenales de Lara. He spent 2017 in AAA with the Giants, before signing for Arizona that winter. Last year, he split time between AA Jackson and AAA Reno, hitting an impressive .337 between the two clubs. However Ubaldo Jimenez Jersey , he was very much a “ball in play” guy, with just 30 walks and 56 K’s in 459 plate-appearances, and managed just a single home-run. Those factors kept his OPS for the season down to a less-impressive .798. He appeared mostly at second- and third-base in 2018, but overall in his career, he has been mainly a shortstop. He is playing in the Venezuelan league for the Cardenales, who reached the finals and beat Caracas to win the domestic title for the first time in eighteen years. Junior enjoyed a good series, highlighted by his performance in Game 3, where he had four hits and drove in five runs, including a grand-slam in the seventh inning. He’ll now play with his team in the 2019 Caribbean Series, which will take place from February 4-10, at the Rod Carew Stadium in Panama City. It was scheduled to be played in Venezuela, but the current situation there has led to it being moved. Kelby TomlinsonTomlinson has played the past four seasons with the San Francisco Giants, appearing in a total of 273 games, with a line of .265/.331/.332 in that time. He was a bit of a fan favorite after making his debut there in 2015, his dark-rimmed glasses becoming something of a cult icon, earning the nickname of “Clark Kent.” But he wasn’t exactly great, with basically no power. Indeed, each of the last three seasons, Tomlinson’s on-base percentage was higher than his slugging percentage. That’s not easy to do: Gregg Garcia of the Cardinals is the only other major-league player to do that, with 100+ PA in each year. Tomlison has one home-run since 2015. On the plus side, it was off Clayton Kershaw...Mind you, all of Kelby’s home-runs have been impressive. I’m not certain, but he has to be close to the only player whose first two homers (his only others, bar the Kershaw shot, to date) were a grand-slam and an inside the parker - the latter is shown above. In terms of the 2019 Diamondbacks, it’s likely he’ll be in the mix, along with the likes of Ildemaro Vargas Joey Rickard Jersey , for the final bench spot as a utility infielder. He was mostly a second-baseman with San Francisco, but also started games at shortstop, third-base and even left-field. Andy YoungWell, you should already know all about Mr. Young, considering that Mike wrote about him on Monday, and interviewed him later that day. You should skip the rest of this paragraph, and go read those in-depth pieces instead. But if you want the Cliff Notes version... Young was a late (37th-round) pick by the Cardinals in the 2016 draft, but has put up numbers significantly better than that since, batting .281 with an .829 OPS over 289 games. And that doesn’t include his spell in the Arizona Fall League, where Andy hit .301, after being described by our siblings at Viva El Birdos as “a huge breakout story” of 2018. initially, Young drifted around positions: in his rookie pro season, he started games at second, short, third, left and even in right field. But the focus has been increasingly on second-base, where he started 101 times last season, plus eighteen more in the AFL. It’s probably a stretch to see him making Arizona’s Opening Day roster this year, with a number of more advanced and/or experienced names ahead of him. But if Young continues to perform as well as he did in 2018, he’ll likely be knocking on the door before very much longer. After another productive year in Triple-A, Alex Verdugo made three different trips to the big leagues in 2018."With the offseason in full swing, it’s time once again to look back on the season, reviewing each player one by one, at least daily from now until the end of the calendar year. We start with outfielder Alex Verdugo, who made three different trips to the big leagues in 2018.What went rightVerdugo had another outstanding year with Triple-A Oklahoma City, hitting .329/.391/.472 with 10 homers and 19 doubles in 379 plate appearances. The 22-year-old has been one of the better hitters in Triple-A over the past two seasons.At one point, Verdugo had a hit in 31 of 37 games over a two-month stretch http://www.oriolesfanproshop.com/authentic-j.j.-hardy-jersey , going 54-for-140 (.386) over that time.Verdugo’s first stint with the Dodgers came in late April when Yasiel Puig landed on the 10-day disabled list. The outfielder would start nine of the 11 games he was on the roster for, going 9-for-34 with four doubles.“He’s a gritty little player,” manager Dave Roberts said about Verdugo after a Dodger win in May. “He does a lot of things to help you win ball games. I like his at-bats. For a young player, he’s really unfazed.”In a shorter trip to the big leagues in July, Verdugo was 5-for-16 with a homer. If it weren’t for the fact that the Dodgers were so deep this year at the major league level, Verdugo could have had more playing time.“No matter what decision we make, it won’t be performance-based,” Roberts told media in July when the Dodgers would be forced to send Verdugo back to Triple-A to activate Yasiel Puig. “Alex has performed really well at the Triple-A level. He’s a Major League player. But the way we’re playing, with our depth, certain guys are the odd man out at times. I can’t say enough about him.”What went wrongAfter being recalled on September 1 when rosters expanded, Verdugo only started three games in September. There just wasn’t playing time as the Dodgers weren’t guaranteed of making the playoffs.As a lefty bat, Verdugo was behind Joc Pederson and Cody Bellinger when Los Angeles faced a right-hander. The 22-year-old went 6-for-27 with a double and three walks.When the Dodgers were in the midst of dealing for what would be Manny Machado and Brian Dozier in July, it was Verdugo’s name once again that was thrown about in trade rumors.“I don’t really care this year,” Verdugo said to Jacob Unruh of The Oklahoman. “I’m playing baseball. To me, I can’t control that. I think the Dodgers want to keep me.“I’m trying to at least stay with the organization.”Those rumors could persist this offseason as the Dodgers figure out how to get back to the World Series for a third straight year.2018 particularsAge: 22Stats: 20-for-77, 6 2B, 1 HR, 11 R, 8 BB, .260/.329/.377Salary: pro-rated share of major league minimum of $545,000, roughly $137,000Game of the yearOne of Verdugo’s six multi-hit games in 2018, the 22-year-old doubled twice and scored the only runs for the Dodgers in a 2-1 win over Arizona at Chase Field back on May 2.Roster statusVerdugo has 78 days of major league service time, and two option years remaining.