Outfielder Terrance Gore, pitcher Foster Griffin among 19 Royals spring training invitees

The Royals announced Friday the list of 19 non-roster invitees who will join big-league camp when the team convenes for spring training next month.

Outfielder Terrance Gore, whom the Royals re-signed shortly after non-tendering in December, is among the group, which includes former Phillies utility player Cody Asche and Class AAA Omaha offensive player of the year Frank Schwindel.

Seven of the spots went to pitchers, including left-handers Richard Lovelady and Foster Griffin. Griffin earned a promotion from Class A Wilmington in May and made 18 starts at Class AA Northwest Arkansas, where he amassed a 11-5 record and 3.61 ERA in 104  2/3 innings. Griffin, the sixth-ranked prospect in the organization per MLB.com’s Pipeline, struck out 141 batters overall in 2017.

Lovelady, a hard-throwing reliever, also put together a solid campaign at both Wilmington and Northwest Arkansas, where he had a 1.62 ERA (12 runs in 66  2/3 innings).

Lovelady could compete for a bullpen job with veteran Seth Maness, who re-signed with the organization after posting a 6.13 ERA in 23 games at Omaha last season. Maness, 29, made eight appearances for the Royals early last season, allowing four earned runs and two inherited runners to score.

Righty Josh Staumont will get another chance to impress the Royals. Ranked ninth in the farm system, Staumont progressed quickly after being drafted in the second round in 2015, but ran into trouble last season. He assembled a 5.56 ERA over 26 games (25 starts) and 124  2/3 innings for Northwest Arkansas and Omaha.

Shortstop Nicky Lopez, drafted in the fifth round in 2016, also earned an invite. He had been highly regarded for his glovework but further impressed team officials in the Arizona Fall League, where he was second in the league with a .383 batting average and fourth in on-base percentage (.433) over 20 games.

Pitchers and catchers will report to Surprise, Ariz., on Feb. 13. Everyone else is due in camp by Feb. 18, with the first full-squad workout scheduled for the following day.

This story was originally published January 5, 2018 at 3:10 PM with the headline "Outfielder Terrance Gore, pitcher Foster Griffin among 19 Royals spring training invitees."