Six 2017 River Cats earn non-roster invites to Major League Spring Training

West Sacramento, CA - The San Francisco Giants have extended non-roster invitations for Major League Spring Training to 16 players, club Senior Vice President and General Manager Bobby Evans announced Thursday. Featured in the group are six River Cats players from the 2017 season.

Left-handed starting pitcher Andrew Suárez will be making his second straight appearance in big-league camp, having been part of a group of 28 that received invites in 2017. After being called up from Double-A Richmond, Suarez made 13 starts for the River Cats with a 3.55 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 88.2 innings pitched.
Right-handed starting pitcher Jose Flores will be making his first Major League Spring Training appearance for the Giants. Like Suarez, Flores was called up from the Richmond Flying Squirrels, making 12 starts with a 4.04 ERA in a River Cats uniform.
Infielder Orlando Calixte will be making his second trip to major-league camp, though last year's invite came as a result of being on the 40-man roster. The Dominican Republic native played in 42 games for the River Cats with a .286 batting average and .500 slugging percentage before being recalled by San Francisco, where he secured his first major-league hit in a 2-for-5 performance on May 30 against the Washington Nationals.
Catcher Trevor Brown will be in big-league camp for the third straight year, but it will be his first as a non-roster invitee. Brown began the 2017 season on the disabled list but returned and played in 58 games for the River Cats.
The Giants' No.1 ranked prospect, according to MLB.com, outfielder Chris Shaw earned his first non-roster invite. The left-handed power bat from Boston College clubbed a team-leading 18 home runs and 25 doubles in 88 games in Sacramento.
Outfielder Steven Duggar 's invite to major-league camp is his second consecutive. The Clemson product missed nearly the first three months of the 2017 season with a hip flexor injury, eventually making his way to Sacramento where he played the final 13 games at Triple-A.
The other 10 players who received a non-roster invite are: RHP Tyler Cyr, RHP Dereck Rodríguez, RHP Jose Valdez, RHP Madison Younginer, C Justin O'Conner, C Hector Sanchez, INF Chase D'Arnaud, INF Alen Hanson, 1B Kyle Jensen, and INF Josh Rutledge.
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About the Sacramento River Cats
The Sacramento River Cats are the Triple-A affiliate of the three-time World Champion San Francisco Giants. The team plays at Raley Field in West Sacramento, consistently voted one of the top ballparks in America. River Cats Season Tickets, Mini-Plans, and Flex Plans can be purchased for the upcoming 2018 season by calling the River Cats Ticket Hotline at (916) 371-HITS (4487). For more information about the River Cats, visit www.rivercats.com. For information on other events at Raley Field, visit www.raleyfield.com.