Brewers protect Dubon, Peralta, Nottingham, Diplan by adding them to their 40-man roster

The Brewers added four minor-league prospects to their 40-man roster on Monday, protecting them from being snatched away in the Rule 5 draft in December.

The Brewers added pitchers Freddy Peralta and Marcos Diplan, infielder Mauricio Dubon and catcher Jacob Nottingham to the 40-man roster, which stands at 39 players. All are ranked among the organization's top 30 prospects, and Brewers general manager David Stearns said the choices were not difficult.

"Every year, you feel like you have more players to protect than you do spots, and you're always worried about roster crunch," Stearns said. "I do think the grouping that we protected this year separated themselves a little bit. We had the space to add them, and these were very deserving recipients."

Players who must be protected basically are high school draft picks and international signings from 2013 as well as college draft picks from 2014. If not on the 40-man roster, other teams can take them in the Rule 5 draft but must keep them in the majors next season.

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Though he left one space open, Stearns said that did not mean he had an external move pending.

"A lot of clubs do that at this point of the year because it gives you added flexibility," he said. "Obviously, we have a lot of off-season left, so I imagine there's going to be more 40-man roster movement. That doesn't end today."

Dubon, 23, was part of the Travis Shaw/Tyler Thornburg trade with Boston at the 2017 winter meetings. He split the 2017 season between Class AA Biloxi and Class AAA Colorado Springs, batting .274 with a .330 on-base percentage, .382 slugging percentage, 29 doubles, eight homers, 57 RBI and 38 stolen bases.

Peralta, 21, was one of three teenage pitchers acquired from Seattle at the 2015 winter meetings in a trade for first baseman Adam Lind. He had a breakthrough season at advanced Class A Carolina and Biloxi, going 3-8 with a 2.63 ERA in 25 games (19 starts), with 169 strikeouts in 120 innings and a .178 opponents batting average.

Diplan and Nottingham also came to the organization via trades but struggled during the 2017 season. Diplan, 21, scuffled at Carolina (7-8, 5.23 ERA in 26 games) and it would be a big jump to the majors if he were to be taken in the Rule 5 draft, but he has a good arm with potential. 

The Brewers saw right-hander Miguel Diaz plucked away from Class A Wisconsin in the 2016 Rule 5 draft by the rebuilding San Diego Padres, so there is precedent for taking a young, promising arm from that level.

Nottingham, 22, acquired from Oakland in a February 2016 trade for slugger Khris Davis, struggled at Biloxi, batting .209 with a .695 OPS, nine home runs and 48 RBI. It would not be easy to keep a catcher in the majors who hasn’t played at the Class AAA level, but the Brewers have high hopes for Nottingham and didn't want to risk losing him.

"We're living in new world with the Rule 5 draft now," Stearns said. "Rule 5 selection behavior has changed over the last couple of years. Players are now selected from lower levels, as much due to their prospect status as much as their most recent production. We had to take that into account in determining who to put on the roster."

On another topic, the Brewers have been reported to have interest in some of the top-tier free-agent starting pitchers, such as Jake Arrieta and Lance Lynn. Stearns was asked if there was fire to go along with that smoke.

"I don't know where exactly they're getting it from," Stearns said. "I think there's a lot of speculation going on at this point. I've made no secret that starting pitching is something we're looking at this off-season, so that's no surprise. We've been honest about that.

"In terms of specific names, I think there's a lot of speculation going on from a variety of sources."