Franco among 6 invited to Rays' spring camp

As expected, shortstop Wander Franco -- the top prospect in baseball -- will be in big league camp with the Rays this spring.

The Rays invited six players to Major League Spring Training on Monday, including a group of four prospects from their farm system, headlined by Franco -- who was recently named the game’s No. 1 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline for the second straight year.

This will be the 19-year-old Franco’s first full spring in big league camp, although he was called over from Minor League camp for three games last Spring Training. He was part of the Rays’ 60-man player pool last season, spent the summer at their alternate training site in Port Charlotte, Fla., then earned a spot on their 40-man postseason player pool.

Franco, a switch-hitting shortstop, was named the Rays’ Minor League Player of the Year in 2019, when he hit .327/.398/.487 with nine homers, 27 doubles and seven triples in 114 games between Class A Bowling Green and Class A Advanced Charlotte. It is unclear which level he will start the season at, but he would be on track to make his much-anticipated big league debut later this year if he breaks camp in the upper Minors.

The Rays invited three more non-roster prospects to big league camp: first baseman/outfielder Dalton Kelly, infielder Esteban Quiroz and catcher/outfielder Brett Sullivan. Additionally, Tampa Bay agreed to terms on Minor League contracts with right-handers Adrian De Horta and Yacksel Ríos, both of whom were invited to Major League Spring Training.

Those moves brought the Rays’ Spring Training roster to 55 players.

Quiroz, acquired last March as the player to be named later in the Tommy Pham deal, spent the 2020 season at the Rays’ alternate site. Playing mostly second base, the versatile left-handed hitter has posted a .274/.390/.541 slash line in two Minor League seasons since signing with the Red Sox out of Mexico. Following the '20 season, he played winter ball for Caneros de Los Mochis in the Mexican Pacific Winter League, hitting .299/.466/.483 with eight homers and 38 RBIs in 58 games.

Kelly and Sullivan, both 26, were non-roster invitees in Rays camp last year but did not make their 60-man player pool. Kelly, acquired in a five-player deal with the Mariners in November 2016, hit .281/.394/.405 with 10 homers and 46 RBIs in 122 games between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham in '19. Sullivan hit .280/.333/.459 with 10 homers and 21 steals in 102 games during his second straight season in Double-A in '19.

The signing of Ríos, a 27-year-old reliever who has pitched for the Pirates and Phillies, was previously reported. The 25-year-old De Horta worked out at the Angels’ alternate training site last year as part of their 60-man player pool. He posted a 5.33 ERA with 76 strikeouts and 33 walks in 52 1/3 innings over 18 outings, including eight starts, at three levels of the Halos’ system in 2019.