Brewers make no picks, lose no players in Rule 5 draft

One of the weird things about the David Stearns era is for someone constantly looking to add talent in any way possible, he hardly ever makes picks in the annual Rule 5 Draft.

The Brewers haven’t made a selection in the Rule 5 (at least for themselves) since Stearns’ first winter with the team in 2015, when they picked Zack Jones from the Minnesota Twins, only to return him to the Twins before he played a game, and the immortal Colin Walsh.

If there’s one thing David Stearns & Co. like more than freely available talent, though, it’s roster spots and options — and that’s always the caveat with Rule 5 picks.

So it probably doesn’t come as a surprise that the Brewers (once again) did not make a pick in the Rule 5 draft.

The Brewers also didn’t take anyone in the minor league portion of the draft, and unsurprisingly considering the poor reputation of their farm system, didn’t lose any players they left unprotected, either.

That means Payton Henry, Zack Brown and everyone else will remain in the Brewers’ system for the time being.

While plenty of teams passed on making Rule 5 picks — probably not a surprise, considering the lack of a minor league season means the information on many of the guys left unprotected was extremely limited and most of them lost a year of development — there were some notable picks, including the division rival Pittsburgh Pirates, who took pitching prospect-fresh-off-Tommy John Jose Soriano from the LA Angels.

In the meantime, the Brewers’ quiet offseason continues.