The Nationals added third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez and right-handed pitcher Jefry Rodriguez to their 40-man roster before Monday's 8 p.m. ET deadline to protect players from being selected in December's Rule 5 Draft.
Some of the Nationals' most valued prospects were already moved to the 40-man roster over this past season, including Victor Robles, Erick Fedde and Andrew Stevenson. Earlier this month, the team also added reliever Wander Suero to its roster, which now stands at 37 players.
Gutierrez is ranked as the club's No. 12 prospect by MLBPipeline.com while Rodriguez is not a top-30 prospect, but the organization did not want to risk losing either player in the Rule 5 Draft.
Gutierrez -- a Pimentel, Dominican Republic, native, who was originally signed as a free agent in April 2013 -- was named a Carolina League midseason All-Star in 2017 as he batted .288 with 18 extra-base hits (including two homers) and 16 RBIs while scoring 34 runs in the season's first half for Class A Advanced Potomac. During the Arizona Fall League, he received reps at first base as well and posted a slash line of .350/.438/.475 with a triple, a homer and nine RBIs in 13 games for the Mesa Solar Sox.

Rodriguez, 24, went 4-3 with a 3.32 ERA in 12 appearances (10 starts) while striking out 51 batters in 57 innings for Potomac this past season. He is 19-28 with a 4.35 ERA and 339 strikeouts in 415 2/3 frames across 89 appearances (86 starts) in parts of five Minor League seasons. He was originally signed as a free agent in January 2012 from the Dominican Republic.
A few notable players left unprotected and off the 40-man roster include third baseman Drew Ward and catcher Taylor Gushue. Ward is ranked the club's No. 18 prospect, and after a solid 2016 during which he made strides with his power numbers -- .412 slugging percentage with 14 home runs -- those numbers regressed in '17 -- .356 slugging percentage with 10 home runs. Gushue (No. 23) had a solid season with 18 home runs and a .745 OPS before playing in the Arizona Fall League.