November is a busy month during the baseball offseason. Six Brewers became free agents upon the conclusion of the World Series. Two players have options for 2023. There are 18 arbitration eligible players with a tender deadline on November 18. Lastly, the deadline to add players to the 40-man roster in order to protect them from the rule 5 draft is November 15. This year, seven of the Brewers top 30 prospects are eligible.
The rule 5 draft provides clubs the opportunity to pick up certain players from other teams. In general, players who signed at age 18 or younger and have five years of minor league experience are eligible. Those that signed after 19 years old and have four years of experience are also eligible. If a player is drafted by another team, they must be added to the 40-man roster immediately.
For the Brewers, the seven eligible top 30 prospects are as followed: Brice Turang, Felix Valerio, Eduardo Garcia, Abner Uribe, Cam Robinson, Carlos Rodriguez, and Victor Castaneda.
Last year, the Brewers did not protect a single player. I would expect that to change this year. Here are two players that I think the Brewers will protect this year.
Brice Turang is a player that the Brewers do not want to lose. The 2018 first round pick put together a solid 2022 season and should make his MLB debut in 2023. He is essentially a lock to be protected.
Second is Abner Uribe. He is a pitcher who can throw 100+ MPH and recently made the AFL Fall Stars game. He has struggled with health, but his potential should warrant him a 40-man roster spot.
It will be interesting to see who the Brewers end up protecting. There are more rule 5 draft eligible players, but odds are that if the Brewers protect anyone they will be a top 30 prospect.
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