Orioles invite 16 non-roster players to camp

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles announced on Thursday that they have invited 16 non-roster players to Spring Training, which begins when pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota, Fla., on Feb. 14.

Pitchers invited to camp include: left-handers Mark Hendrickson and Clay Rapada; and right-handers Mitch Atkins, Ryan Drese, Armanda Gabino, Wynn Pelzer, Raul Rivero and Josh Rupe.

The position players are: catchers Adam Donachie, Michel Hernandez and Caleb Joseph; outfielders Tyler Henson and Randy Winn; and infielders Ryan Adams, Nick Green and Brendan Harris.

Of the pitchers invited, six have Major League experience, with five spending at least part of 2010 in the Majors. Hendrickson has spent the last two seasons with the Orioles, going 7-11 with a 4.74 ERA in 105 games (12 starts). Gabino pitched at three levels last season, including the Majors, spending the majority of the season with Triple-A Norfolk, where he went 7-0 with a 2.37 ERA in 30 games (eight starts). Atkins, 25, appeared in five games for the Cubs last season after going 8-3 with a 3.63 ERA in 28 games (15 starts) with Triple-A Iowa.

The 29-year-old Rapada made 13 appearances for Texas in addition to 50 appearances with Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he posted a 1.82 ERA in 59 1/3 innings for the RedHawks. Rupe, 28, posted a 2.92 ERA in 40 appearances for Triple-A Omaha and made 11 relief appearances for Kansas City, posting a 5.59 ERA. Drese, 34, last pitched in the Major Leagues in 2006 for Washington, his sixth big league season. He pitched for Mexicali of the Mexican Winter League in '10, going 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA in nine starts.

Pelzer received his first invite after being acquired from San Diego on July 29 in exchange for Miguel Tejada. He went 1-0 and pitched to a 4.50 ERA, striking out a batter per inning in 10 games with Double-A Bowie. Rivero also got his first invite after splitting 2010 between Class A Frederick and Bowie, where he combined to go 4-3 with a 3.06 ERA in 37 relief appearances.

The 36-year-old Winn, has played in the Major Leagues for the last 13 seasons, batting .284 with 110 home runs for five different teams (Tampa Bay, Seattle, San Francisco, the Yankees and St. Louis). He was an All-Star in 2002 with the Rays. Harris, 30, is entering his 11th professional season and is a career .260 hitter in 485 Major League games with Montreal, Washington, Cincinnati, Tampa Bay and Minnesota. He was acquired from Minnesota along with J.J. Hardy in December. Green, 32, is entering his 13th professional season, and is a career .237 hitter in 392 big league games with Atlanta, Tampa Bay, the Yankees, Seattle, Boston, the Dodgers and Toronto.

Adams received his first invitation to camp, after batting .298 with a club-record 43 doubles in 134 games with Double-A Bowie in 2010. He was named the Orioles' No. 8 prospect by Baseball America. Henson also received his first invite on the strength of batting .278 with 52 extra-base hits for Bowie last season.

Donachie, Hernandez and Joseph all return as invitees, after they came to big league camp in 2010. Donachie spent the majority of last season with Triple-A Norfolk (78 games), but also appeared in five games for Double-A Bowie. Hernandez appeared in 58 games for Norfolk, batting .263. He has previous Major League experience with the Yankees (2003) and Tampa Bay (2008-09). Joseph spent 2010 with Bowie, batting .235 with 11 home runs in 106 games.

The Orioles' first full-squad workout will take place on Feb. 21. Baltimore opens the 2011 Grapefruit League schedule with a split-squad game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Feb. 28 at 1:05 p.m ET.