No. 11 prospect among Brewers' 40-man adds ahead of Rule 5

MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers added right-handers Logan Henderson and Chad Patrick to the 40-man roster on Tuesday to protect those players from being plucked away in next month’s Rule 5 Draft.

Henderson, MLB Pipeline’s No. 11 Brewers prospect, was a 2021 fourth-round Draft pick whose career got off to a rocky start because of an elbow injury. He’s still just 22, and back on track after combining for a 3.04 ERA in 37 starts over the past two seasons and climbing all the way to Triple-A Nashville for six late-season starts in 2024.

Patrick, 26, is four years older than Henderson but went to the D-backs nine picks earlier in the same round of the ‘21 Draft. He was traded to the A’s in July 2023, then dealt from the A’s to the Brewers that November for infielder Abraham Toro. Despite not carrying the same prospect hype as Henderson, Patrick earned his 40-man roster spot by going 14-1 with a 2.90 ERA in 136 1/3 innings for Nashville last season.

Generally speaking, players who signed with their current club at age 18 or younger and have five years of experience, or signed with their current club at age 19 or older and have four years of experience and are not protected on 40-man rosters, are eligible to be picked by other clubs in the Rule 5 Draft on the final day of the Winter Meetings (this year, that lands on Dec. 11). The catch is that the claiming team must keep the player on its Major League roster for the entirety of next year.

So, each team faces decisions every November regarding which prospects to protect, and which to leave exposed. The 40-man roster has its limits, after all.

Among the players left unprotected by Milwaukee this time were pitcher Coleman Crow (Brewers No. 30), who began his comeback from Tommy John surgery with a stint in the Arizona Fall League; Ernesto Martinez Jr., a big, athletic first baseman nicknamed "El espectáculo"; slugging first baseman and catcher Wes Clarke, who hit 21 homers between Double-A Biloxi and Nashville in '24; and right-handed swingman Shane Smith, who struck out 113 batters in 94 1/3 innings between Biloxi and Nashville last season.

Barring a jump to the big leagues, Henderson and Patrick could be part of a premium Triple-A pitching rotation to start 2025. Among the other potential Nashville starters are Jacob Misiorowski (Brewers No. 3 and No. 80 overall), whose role is in flux after finishing last season with a successful run in relief, and Carlos Rodriguez, a two-time Brewers Minor League Pitcher of the Year who took a step back last season, but did make his Major League debut.

The Brewers will also have to make decisions on Crow, who was in his second season at the Double-A level in the Angels’ system before injuring his elbow, and Brett Wichrowski, who made 17 starts at Biloxi last season.