These former Brewers made their first all-star squads with a different team
We learned Sunday that Devin Williams would represent the Milwaukee Brewers in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game for the second time, three days after discovering that one former Brewer would be in the starting lineup.
Orlando Arcia, who was with the Brewers from 2016 to 2021, is enjoying a breakout season with the Atlanta Braves and was selected as a starter for the National League, with a .788 OPS on track for a career best. Arcia, still just 28 years old, was dealt to Atlanta for two relief pitchers in 2021; shortly thereafter, Milwaukee acquired Willy Adames from Tampa Bay.
Arcia signed a three-year deal worth $7.3 million before the season after he won the Braves starting shortstop job out of spring training and he hasn't slowed down since, helping Atlanta seamlessly move on from Dansby Swanson (who signed as a free agent with the Cubs in the offseason).
Arcia was a popular player among players and fans during his tenure in Milwaukee but hadn't yet reached the potential of his lofty prospect status during his development within the organization.
Former Brewers reliever Josh Hader, who has a 1.21 ERA in 31 appearances for San Diego entering the week, also made his fifth all-star team after making his first four with Milwaukee.
What about other Brewers who have made the All-Star Game after departing Milwaukee? For our purposes, we'll keep it limited to players who weren't already all-stars with the Brewers (it stands to reason, after all, that they'd continue to be all-stars elsewhere, too). That list includes Paul Molitor, Greg Vaughn, Prince Fielder, Jeff Cirillo, Darrell Porter, Bob Wickman, Francisco Cordero, Jean Segura and J.J. Hardy. And now Hader.
Some of them were "ones that got away," and some were great comeback stories. How many of these do you remember?
The ones that got away
Gary Sheffield (nine times). Most Brewers fans know the story of how Sheffield clashed with the Brewers and wanted out, and he immediately reached all-star level when the club traded him to San Diego before the 1992 season. He developed into one of the game's most dangerous hitters, with all-star appearances for the Marlins, Dodgers, Braves and Yankees.
Nelson Cruz (seven times). The 2006 deal that sent Carlos Lee to the Rangers in exchange for Kevin Mench, Laynce Nix and Francisco Cordero still lingers for many in the minds of Brewers fans because of the prospect Milwaukee also sent to Texas. The caveat still applies: Cruz played sparingly the next two seasons and was designated for assignment by the Rangers in 2008; he could have been claimed by any team in the majors. Nobody knew what he'd become. But the Brewers had a future star and didn't know it, and he went on to be an all-star for Texas, Baltimore, Seattle and Minnesota. He's still slugging at age 41 for Washington this season. Cruz made his major-league debut with the Brewers in 2005 and played just eight games before the deal.
Dante Bichette (four times). Bichette was just OK for Milwaukee in 1991 and 1992, and the club elected to deal him to the Rockies for Kevin Reimer in one of the more infamous trades in Brewers lore. He went on to be a standout for the Rockies, finishing second in the MVP vote in 1995.
It's just business
CC Sabathia (three times). Most everyone knew the Brewers wouldn't be able to retain their high-profile "rental" in 2008 when they traded for Sabathia midseason; he probably could have been chosen for the All-Star Game that year but was up against the awkward situation of doing the majority of his pre-all-star-break work for a team in the other league. His Herculean half-season lifted Milwaukee to the playoffs for the first time in 26 years, and then he understandably cashed in with the Yankees, making three all-star teams in pinstripes.
Zack Greinke (five times). It was a similar situation for the Brewers with Greinke, the 2011 trade acquisition who helped fortify a Central-champion rotation. The colorful and often dominant Greinke was due for free agency after 2012, and Milwaukee made the move to send him to the Angels for a package that included future all-star Jean Segura. Greinke has continued to pitch into his late 30s, making all-star appearances with the Dodgers and Diamondbacks (he only stayed with the Angels a half-season).
Scott Podsednik (2005). Milwaukee's 2004 trade of Podsednik, who finished second in the 2003 Rookie of the Year voting, paid dividends for both sides. Milwaukee procured multiple-time all-star Carlos Lee for its outfield, and the Chicago White Sox got an exciting player who catalyzed the team in their 2005 World Series run. Podsednik only appeared on defense in the ninth inning of the 2005 game (during which Lee had an RBI groundout).
Alcides Escobar and Lorenzo Cain (2015). It was a touch surreal when Cain and Escobar both started the 2015 All-Star Game as Kansas City Royals, with Cain doubling and the players combining for three hits. Cruz was in the starting lineup as well, with Fielder coming off the bench to drive in two runs. Oh, and Greinke was the NL starting pitcher. Cain, of course, returned to Milwaukee and became an all-star in 2018. Escobar was Milwaukee's starting shortstop in 2010, the year Cain made his big-league debut, but both were part of a massive offseason trade with the Royals to acquire Zack Greinke. Later that year, Cain and Escobar also became World Series champions.
Will Smith (2019). For 2½ seasons, the "slider of death" helped make Smith one of Milwaukee's best bullpen options, but he was traded to the Giants in 2016, where he became an all-star three years later. The trade made sense at the time even though the players the Brewers got back (Phil Bickford and Andrew Susac) ultimately didn't stick in Milwaukee. It was less endearing when Smith helped close the door for the Braves against the Brewers in the 2021 playoffs, earning saves in all three NLDS wins.
Jorge López (2022). The relief pitcher re-made himself into an excellent closer for the surging Baltimore Orioles last year, posting a 1.70 ERA and 17 saves for Baltimore (he was traded to Minnesota later that year). López made his big-league debut in 2015, then re-appeared in 2017 and 2018. He had a 2.75 ERA in 19⅔ innings in the latter season before Milwaukee traded him to Kansas City along with Brett Phillips for infielder Mike Moustakas.
Discovering some magic
Marco Estrada (2016). Estrada was a reliable option as a starting pitcher for Milwaukee for four seasons, albeit one with a penchant for allowing home runs. With the Blue Jays, where he was traded for Adam Lind before the 2015 season, Estrada went on a run of a staggering 11 starts in which he worked at least six innings and allowed five or fewer hits. He didn't appear in the All-Star Game but had an ERA of 2.57 at the break.
Scooter Gennett (2018). Gennett's game-tying homer in the ninth got Brewers closer Josh Hader off the hook for the loss, though the American League rallied back to win in extras. The second baseman was waived by the Brewers after four seasons, and in Cincinnati he hit 50 home runs over two seasons, including four in one game.
Veterans have their moment
Jeffrey Leonard (1989). Leonard was only in Milwaukee for 94 games in 1988 and didn't post eye-popping numbers, but he had enough left in the tank to make the all-star team with the Mariners the next year after signing as a free agent in Seattle. He struck out in his only at-bat.
John Jaha (1999). The revered Brewers slugger had his best season with Oakland, when he belted 35 homers and posted a career-best .970 OPS. He struck out in his only all-star game at-bat.
B.J. Surhoff (1999). The former No. 1 overall draft pick by Milwaukee (still the only No. 1 pick in franchise history) was a big part of the Brewers teams in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Originally a catcher, he signed as a free agent with Baltimore in 1996 and played primarily in left field. In 1999, he batted .308 with an .839 OPS and went 0 for 2 in the All-Star Game.
Ronnie Belliard (2004). A regular for four seasons with Milwaukee, Belliard caught on with Cleveland as a free agent and became an all-star in his first full season with the team. Brewers pitcher Ben Sheets struck out his former teammate in Belliard's lone all-star at-bat.
Mark Loretta (2004, 2006). The veteran utility man was with the Brewers from 1995 to 2002, but he started to blossom in his 30s. He won a Silver Slugger as San Diego's primary second baseman in 2004, his first all-star season, and he started the 2006 all-star game with Boston.
Ex-minor leaguers get all-star treatment
Marlins first baseman Garrett Cooper, who was announced as a replacement on the NL all-star roster in 2022, wasn't technically a Brewer, but he was drafted by Milwaukee in 2013 and traded to the Yankees for reliever Tyler Webb in 2017. He found his way to the Marlins and has thrived, and he's not the only Brewers minor leaguer to wind up in the all-star game for someone else.
Michael Brantley (5x). File under "it's just business" because he wound up being the big piece Cleveland recouped for surrendering Sabathia in 2008, but it still smarts to see Brantley have so much big-league success with the Guardians and now Astros. The Brewers' seventh-round pick in 2005 is now over 11 years of MLB service time.
R.A. Dickey (2012). Nobody saw Dickey's Cy Young season coming when the Mets knuckleballer took MLB by storm in 2012. Dickey spent the 2007 season with Milwaukee's Class AAA affiliate in Nashville, but New York marked his third organization since then.
Marco Scutaro (2013). Scutaro was sent to Milwaukee by Cleveland in 2000 to round out a blockbuster trade in which the Brewers acquired Richie Sexson; Scutaro stayed in the Brewers system through the 2001 season before the Mets claimed him off waivers. His incredible big-league journey continued from there, and as a 37-year-old with the Giants, he was named to his only all-star team (he did not appear in the game).
Mitch Haniger (2018). Drafted by Milwaukee in 2012 and sent to Arizona two years later in a deal for Gerardo Parra, Haniger ultimately found big-league success with Seattle, emerging as one of their top players. He went 0 for 2 in the 2018 game.
Jake Odorizzi (2019). Part of the aforementioned 2011 trade to acquire Zack Greinke, Odorizzi was one of Milwaukee's top minor-league prospects when he was included in that deal. A reliable big-league starter in the years since, he finally made his first all-star team with the Twins, though he didn't appear in the game.
JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: These Brewers players first had all-star seasons with different teams
