When it was announced that Chris Owings was among the non-roster invites for spring training, his experience and versatility made him look like an ideal candidate to fill out the bench.
A strong showing in spring only strengthened his case to be included, but eventually he found out that he wasn’t going to be part of the Major League roster to begin the season. He did have an opt-out clause in his contract, meaning he could become a free agent should he not make the team, but instead accepted the assignment to minor league camp.
One thing that was brought up by Ben Cherington while on the broadcast of the game against the Baltimore Orioles was them continuing to try and build as much depth as possible.