24 players were invited to big league camp at Camelback Ranch
The Dodgers on Friday announced 24 non-roster invitees to big league camp at Camelback Ranch in Arizona. Roki Sasaki is the headliner, along with several top prospects and a few other previously-reported veteran players among the group.
Pitchers and catchers report to Dodgers camp on February 10, with the first workout for that group coming the next day. The first scheduled full-squad workout for the team will be Saturday, February 15. The Dodgers open their Cactus League schedule on Thursday, February 20.
Sasaki received a $6.5 million signing bonus in a deal that was finalized on Wednesday. The Dodgers plan for him to open the season in the major league rotation, but because he was signed as an international amateur he is technically a minor league player at the moment and not on the 40-man roster. Hence, the non-roster invitation to camp.
Sasaki was selected as the top prospect in baseball by Baseball America entering the 2025 season, but he wasn’t alone in the top-100 list. The other five Dodgers ranked in that list are all non-roster invitees in camp — catcher/outfielder Dalton Rushing, outfielders Zyhir Hope and Josue De Paula, shortstop Alex Freeland, and pitcher Jackson Ferris.
A handful of veteran players whose minor-league deals with the Dodgers were reported over the last few months were also invited to big league camp, including pitchers Sam Carlson, Julian Fernandez, Giovanny Gallegos, Joe Jacques, Justin Jarvis, Matt Sauer, and infielder David Bote.
Other Dodgers non-roster invitees with major league experience are catcher Chris Okey, who spent last season in Triple-A Oklahoma City, and left-handed pitcher Jose Hernandez, who was re-acquired by the Dodgers last June.
Outfielder Justin Dean, a 2018 draftee of the Braves who played six seasons in Atlanta’s system, signed a minor-league deal with the Dodgers in December. He hit .247/.339/.321 with a 97 wRC+ between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett, with 61 stolen bases in 117 games. He turned 28 in December.
The rest of the non-roster invitees were all in the Dodgers minor leagues last season, including pitchers Carlos Duran, Jared Karros, Jack Little, and Jose Rodriguez, catcher Griffin Lockwood-Powell, infielders Austin Gauther and Kody Hoese, and first baseman/outfielder Ryan Ward.
Rushing, Gauthier, Okey, and Ward were all non-roster invitees in 2024 spring training as well.