The World Series matchup between the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays will send three former Minnesota Twins players back into the spotlight, and no matter how it plays out, one of them is leaving with a championship ring.
Tampa Bay advanced Monday with a 7-3 win over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series. Milwaukee had already locked up its spot by sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 in the National League Championship Series.
The Rays last played in the World Series in 2008, while the Brewers haven’t been there since 1982. Neither team has ever won it all.
For the Twins angle, the Brewers’ catcher Gary Sánchez is the most recognizable name. He is Milwaukee’s backup behind William Contreras and has seen only one postseason plate appearance so far. That came in Game 2 of the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres, when he drew a walk with two outs in the ninth inning and helped set up Jackson Chourio’s walk-off two-run single.
Sánchez, 33, put together a .209/.349/.422 line with 12 homers and 38 RBI in 275 plate appearances during the regular season. His lone year in Minnesota came in 2022, when he hit .205/.282/.377 with 16 home runs and 61 RBI. The Twins got him from the New York Yankees in the Josh Donaldson trade before that season, and after leaving Minnesota he played for the New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Baltimore Orioles and Brewers.
Milwaukee also has former Twin Trevor Megill closing games. His only season with Minnesota was also in 2022, when he struggled to a 4.80 ERA over 45 innings. The Twins dealt him to the Brewers on April 30, 2023, and he has taken off in Milwaukee.
Megill has been sharp for the Brewers over the years, posting a 2.80 ERA with 81 saves and 231 strikeouts over 189 2/3 innings. This season, he finished with a 2.63 ERA, 30 saves and 69 strikeouts over 61 2/3 innings.
In the postseason, he has been even tighter, allowing just one hit and two walks over 5 2/3 shutout innings while striking out six. Across 13 career playoff appearances, he has given up only one earned run on four hits and three walks in 13 innings.
On the Tampa Bay side, Griffin Jax gives the Rays another former Twin. Jax debuted with Minnesota in 2021 and started out as a starter before the club moved him to the bullpen full time.
That switch worked. Beginning in 2022, he logged a 3.32 ERA with 313 strikeouts in 254 2/3 innings as a full-time reliever for the Twins.
Minnesota sent Jax to Tampa Bay at the 2025 trade deadline in the deal for right-handed starter Taj Bradley. The Rays moved Jax back into the rotation this year, and he responded with a 3.53 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 112 1/3 innings over 34 outings, including 23 starts. In the postseason, he has thrown six innings across two appearances, one of them a start, and has allowed four earned runs on six hits and three walks with six strikeouts.
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