Twins invite 19 non-roster players to camp, including prospect Brooks Lee

FORT MYERS, FLA. – The Twins announced the 19 non-roster players they invited to major league spring training camp Tuesday, and the list includes highly-touted infield prospect Brooks Lee and six guys who weren’t in the organization last year.

Lee, the Twins’ first-round pick in 2022, reached Class AAA last year. The switch-hitting infielder isn’t a favorite to make the club out of camp, but he’s in position to debut this year. He hit .275 in 125 minor league games last year with 16 homers, 39 doubles, 84 RBI and a .347 on-base percentage. This will be his second MLB camp.

The Twins’ external additions include pitchers Matt Bowman, Jeff Brigham, Daniel Duarte and Ryan Jensen, catcher Brian O’Keefe and utilityman Niko Goodrum.

Duarte, along with Twins reliever Jordan Balazovic, cleared waivers after they were designated for assignment last week, which keeps them in the organization. Outfielder Bubba Thompson was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds for the second time this offseason.

Brigham made 37 relief appearances for the New York Mets last season, yielding a 5.26 ERA. Duarte posted a 3.69 ERA across 31 relief outings for the Reds, though he walked 20 batters and struck out 23 in 31⅔ innings.

Righthanded pitcher David Festa, who represented the Twins in the MLB Futures Game last summer, earned his first career invite to big-league camp. Festa, 23, had a 4.19 ERA between Class AA and Class AAA while totaling 119 strikeouts and 42 walks in 92⅓ innings.

Here are the non-roster invitees as pitchers and catchers report Wednesday:

Pitchers (9): RHP Jordan Balazovic, RHP Matt Bowman, RHP Jeff Brigham, RHP Randy Dobnak, RHP Daniel Duarte, RHP David Festa, RHP Ronny Henriquez, RHP Ryan Jensen and LHP Jovani Moran.

Catchers (4): Alex Isola, Brian O’Keefe, Chris Williams and Pat Winkel.

Infielders (5): Niko Goodrum, Michael Helman, Brooks Lee, Anthony Prato and Aaron Sabato.

Outfielder (1): DaShawn Keirsey Jr.