Milwaukee Brewers: Crew Makes 40 Man Roster Decisions

As the deadline looms for 40 man roster decisions prior to the Rule 5 Draft in December, the Milwaukee Brewers have made a few additions to their roster.

They couldn’t hold on to everybody however, and some players could be in new organizations next year.

Who They Added

Mauricio Dubon was probably the easiest player to decide on for David Stearns. Dubon is the Brewers ninth best prospect and hit .274/.330/.382 across Double-A and Triple-A in 2017. He could be the future at second base. Given his high potential and close proximity to the major leagues, it was an obvious choice to put him on the roster.

Freddy Peralta was another easy choice. The 21 year old righty pitched to a 2.63 ERA in 2017, splitting time between High-A and Double-A. As the Crew’s 11th rated prospect, Peralta has the potential to be a solid mid-rotation arm in the big leagues and is big part of the future rotation depth for Milwaukee. He might need to spend all of 2018 in Triple-A. But he makes sense as a September call up next year.

Marcos Diplan was also added to the roster. This may have been a difficult decision based on his poor performance in 2017. And the fact that he was in High-A the entire year. But since the Milwaukee Brewers lost Miguel Diaz from Low-A last year, perhaps they learned their lesson and decided to keep Diplan. He still has a high ceiling and is the 15th rated prospect in the organization.

Jacob Nottingham was the final addition to the roster, the Crew’s 19th rated prospect. Nottingham was coming off a poor showing in Double-A, hitting a meager .209 with nine homers despite power being his calling card. But the lack of catching depth throughout the system forces David Stearns hand. Nottingham had to be kept given how close he is to the majors and he plays a premium position.

Who They Left off

Infield utility man Nate Orf was left off the roster. Now he could be a nice pickup for another team. He posted a .307 average with 11 home runs last year, albeit in Colorado Springs, but his bat has always been there. With the shortage of second base options at the major league level, the Milwaukee Brewers still decide against protecting Orf. It’s possible he doesn’t get picked up by another team but he could make it on a major league roster for an entire season.

Outfielder Kyle Wren was left off, most likely due to the overwhelming number of outfielders the Crew already has. Wren doesn’t have much of a future with this organization at the big league level. But he could be a good addition to an outfield needy team. He’s a lefty hitter that gets on base and seems ready for a shot at the big leagues.

What this means

The Brewers added four players to their 40 man roster. They had five openings. The roster stands at 39 and the Crew could keep that spot open specifically for the Rule 5 draft during the Winter Meetings. They’ve made selections the past few years but have either traded them away or sent them back during Spring Training.

All of the Brewers top 30 prospects who were Rule 5 eligible were protected. If any Brewers farmhands are selected in this year’s Rule 5 draft, they won’t be taken from the top of the talent pool. There are some nice depth pieces that weren’t protected but none figure to be in the future plans in Milwaukee.

Next: Does Mark Appel fit with the Crew?

A lot of teams had to make tough decisions today on their 40 man rosters. There is some good talent that could be ripe for the taking this December. We only have to wait a few more weeks to find out if the Milwaukee Brewers lose anyone in this year’s draft. But it seems likely they won’t lose someone on the first overall pick.