LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The Braves’ spring-training clubhouse is jam-packed with 70 players, some of whom have zero chance of making the opening-day roster.
So why did guys like elite shortstop Ozzie Albies and outfield prospect Braxton Davidson, each just 19 years old and with no chance of breaking camp with the major league team, get invited to camp when it was already going to be overcrowded this spring?
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez was asked that question specifically about Davidson, a first-round pick in the 2014 draft. But his answer could apply indirectly to Albies and plenty of other youngsters who are in major league camp for the first weeks of spring training.