A catcher and two pitchers were added to the 40-man roster by the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday, keeping them from next month’s Rule 5 draft.
Catcher Mario Feliciano and pitchers Alec Bettinger and Dylan File were protected from being selected by other teams in December’s Rule 5 draft. Friday’s moves, at the deadline for protecting prospects, put the Brewers’ 40-man roster at 39.
All three players are among the Brewers’ top 30 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.
To see the full rules and past results for the Rule 5 draft please follow this link.
Catching Depth
Protecting Feliciano gives the Brewers five catchers on their 40-man roster. Omar Narvaez, Manny Pina, and Jacob Nottingham all saw action behind the plate in 2020, while David Freitas was added to the playoff roster and had one at-bat.
Feliciano is the fourth-ranked Brewers prospect. Both players were part of the Brewers’ 60-player pool during this pandemic-shortened season and worked out in Grand Chute, Wis.
Feliciano spent most of 2019 at high Class-A Carolina and a few games at Double-A Biloxi, hitting .270 with 19 homers and 81 RBIs.
Saving Arms
Bettinger is No. 24 and File No. 25 on the Brewers’ prospect list. Both right-handers were part of the 60-player pool.
Bettinger was at Biloxi in 2019, going 5-7 with a 3.44 ERA. Bettinger walked 35 and struck out 157 in 146 innings. File split 2019 between Carolina and Biloxi, going a combined 15-6 with a 3.24 ERA. File walked 22 and struck out 136 in 147 innings.
Not Protected
Top-30 prospects not put on the 40-man roster are right-hander Zack Brown (No. 14), catcher Payton Henry (No. 15), first baseman-third baseman Lucas Erceg (No. 28), and outfielder Pablo Abreu (No. 29).
After being the Brewers’ minor-league pitcher of the year in 2018, Brown struggled in 2019. He went 3-7 with a 5.79 ERA at Triple-A San Antonio, walking 64 and striking out 98 in 116.2 innings.
Abreu posted on his Instagram account that he underwent surgery on his right elbow. Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns said Thursday it was not a major procedure and Abreu should be ready for spring training. The 21-year-old has not played above low Class-A.
Stearns said the elbow surgery that OF Pablo Abreu revealed on Instagram (“I love the social media reveals”) was not a serious injury and he should be ready for spring training. Is a player under consideration for roster protection tomorrow.
— Tom (@Haudricourt) November 19, 2020
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