It feels almost silly to have to mention that Kiko Calero is a non roster invitee considering he appeared in 67 games for the Florida Marlins and had a 1.95 ERA.
It’s not that those numbers were believed to be a fluke it’s just most teams (for unknown reasons to me) were scared off of the idea of signing Calero over concerns about the health of his arm.
Calero as a non roster invitee is a great move on the part of the Mets. Calero has proved to be a reliable arm out of the pen with only one season of an ERA abouve 4, and that same 2007 season being the lone time his WHIP topped 1.30.
In 7 big league seasons spent between St. Louis, Oakland and Florida he’s pitched 302.2 innings and has a 3.24 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Batters have combined to hit just .217 against him, again with the bulk of that being in 2007.
Calero has done nothing to prove he’s not ready for the 2010 season and all signs point to him being one of the key cogs in the Mets bullpen.
| Non-Roster Invitees | |||||||
| Pitchers | B/T | Ht | Wt | DOB | |||
| 90 Travis Blackley | L/L | 6-3 | 205 | 11/04/82 | |||
| 94 Kiko Calero | R/R | 6-1 | 210 | 01/09/75 | |||
| 64 Elmer Dessens | R/R | 5-11 | 200 | 01/13/71 | |||
| 36 R.A. Dickey | R/R | 6-2 | 215 | 10/29/74 | |||
| 93 Jack Egbert | L/R | 6-3 | 220 | 05/12/83 | |||
| 43 Josh Fogg | R/R | 6-0 | 205 | 12/13/76 | |||
| 68 Bobby Livingston | L/L | 6-3 | 205 | 09/03/82 | |||
| 32 Arturo Lopez | L/L | 5-10 | 185 | 02/22/83 | |||
| 76 Jenrry Mejia | R/R | 6-0 | 160 | 10/11/89 | |||
| 70 Carlos Muniz | R/R | 6-1 | 190 | 03/12/81 | |||
| 77 Eric Niesen | L/L | 6-0 | 185 | 09/04/85 | |||
| 47 Hisanori Takahashi | L/L | 5-10 | 170 | 04/02/75 | |||
| Catchers | B/T | Ht | Wt | DOB | |||
| 72 Kai Gronauer | R/R | 6-1 | 205 | 11/28/86 | |||
| 73 Luke Montz | R/R | 6-2 | 225 | 07/07/83 | |||
| 71 Mike Nickeas | R/R | 6-0 | 210 | 02/13/83 | |||
| 74 Francisco Pena | R/R | 6-2 | 230 | 10/12/89 | |||
| 73 Shawn Riggans | R/R | 6-2 | 200 | 07/25/80 | |||
| Infielders | B/T | Ht | Wt | DOB | |||
| 65 Russ Adams | L/R | 6-0 | 200 | 08/30/80 | |||
| 22 Jolbert Cabrera | R/R | 6-2 | 205 | 12/08/72 | |||
| 67 Mike Cervenak | R/R | 5-11 | 195 | 08/17/76 | |||
| 78 Ike Davis | L/L | 6-4 | 215 | 03/22/87 | |||
| 10 Andy Green | R/R | 5-10 | 180 | 07/07/77 | |||
| 80 Luis Hernandez | S/R | 5-10 | 180 | 06/26/84 | |||
| 66 Mike Hessman | R/R | 6-5 | 215 | 03/05/78 | |||
| 35 Mike Jacobs | L/R | 6-3 | 215 | 10/30/80 | |||
| 79 Ruben Tejada | R/R | 5-11 | 160 | 10/27/89 | |||
| Outfielders | B/T | Ht | Wt | DOB | |||
| 2 Frank Catalanotto | L/R | 6-0 | 195 | 04/27/74 | |||
| 62 Jesus Feliciano | L/L | 5-10 | 190 | 06/06/79 | |||
| 91 Kirk Nieuwenhuis | L/R | 6-3 | 210 | 08/07/87 | |||
Popularity: 1% [?]
No no not that Mike Stanton, Mike Stanton the 20 year old outfielder who has wowed the Marlins organization the last month.
Garret Anderson comes back to Los Angeles. It just happens to be with the Dodgers instead of the Angels. The 16-year veteran played for the Angels the first 15 years of his career before heading to Atlanta last year. With the change to Dodgers Anderson is also trying new things the most notable one being a first basemen glove.
The Diamondbacks are hoping to do better then last year and while the biggest question this spring may be whether Brandon Webb is ready for the start of the season my biggest question is can any of their non roster invitees crack the roster this season?
You’re probably wondering what would possess me to select Starlin Castro as the Chicago Cubs non roster invitee. It’s not a lack of talent but the lack of a roster spot and the fact he’s been reassigned that would have prompted the aforementioned question.
Entering March there were holes to be plugged in St. Louis. Last season the Cardinals were the NL Central Champions but alas weren’t around at the end. Much like everyone else they are looking at invited guests who could make an impact this season.

