Brewers: Plenty of Team Alumni Remain In 2020 MLB Division Series

Houston Astros and Oakland A’s

Why aren’t the Houston Astros and Oakland A’s split up into separate sections, you ask? That’s because both teams feature Brewer alumni and happen to be playing each other in the ALDS. So each game features all kinds of former Brewers across the rosters!

On the A’s side, the most famous of which would be Mike Fiers. The A’s starter spent the first three and a half years of his major league career in Milwaukee before being traded to the Houston Astros in 2015 in a move that brought the aforementioned Brett Phillips to the Brewers, along with Josh Hader, Adrian Houser, and Domingo Santana.

Fiers would spend two more years in Houston before moving on to the Detroit Tigers for a year and then finally the A’s. Once with Oakland, Fiers ended up being the one to publicly reveal Astros’ cheating scandal, ultimately sending a ripple effect across the league.

The A’s also feature former Brewer slugger Khris Davis, who hit 40+ homers in three straight seasons after leaving Milwaukee, and Nate Orf, who has only played in 21 career regular season games, including six with Oakland this year, and still found his way on to the playoff roster.

In the other dugout, the Brewer alumni are led by starting pitcher Zack Greinke. The quirky righty was a huge part of Milwaukee’s 2011 playoff run and had a 4.03 ERA with Houston this season. More interestingly, he apparently now calls his own pitches from the mound at times.

Greinke was also a part of the 2012 Brewers team for a time, as was fellow Milwaukee alum Martin Maldonado. The backstop started 46 games at catcher for Houston this season, batting .215 with six home runs.

And continuing with the theme of trading former Brewers during playoff runs is outfielder Michael Brantley. The former Milwaukee prospect was shipped off to the Cleveland Indians in the trade that brought CC Sabathia to the Brewers in 2008. Brantley spent ten years in Cleveland before signing with the Astros last season.

So while the Brewers may no longer be in the playoffs, plenty of their alumni still are. If you decide you want to cheer for some of them, there’s plenty from which to choose!