These former Brewers (and others with Wisconsin connections) made Major League Baseball opening-day rosters

Numerous former Milwaukee Brewers (and other players with Wisconsin ties) made Major League Baseball rosters around the league. Check out where everyone has landed:

Brewers from 2021

Orlando Arcia, Atlanta Braves. Arcia was dealt to the Braves last year when Willy Adames entrenched himself as the starting Milwaukee shortstop, and though Arcia saw action in only 32 games (.625 OPS), he did win a ring. He's back as a bench player this year.

Jackie Bradley Jr, Boston Red Sox. The longtime member of the Red Sox had a brutal offensive year last year after signing with the Brewers, and he was traded back to Boston in the deal that brought Hunter Renfroe to Milwaukee. Bradley Jr., still an elite defender, figures to see a lot of action in the outfield.

Eduardo Escobar, New York Mets. Escobar, who had an .800 OPS in 48 games with the Brewers last year after he was acquired before the trade deadline, signed with the Mets in the offseason and doubled in the season opener.

JP Feyereisen, Tampa Bay Rays. Part of the trade to land Adames, the River Falls native and UW-Stevens Point alumnus was nails for both the Brewers and the Rays last season, posting a 2.45 ERA with the latter club over 34 games.

Avisaíl García, Miami Marlins. After a big season in Milwaukee last year, he signed for four years and $53 million in the offseason with the Marlins. He posted an .820 OPS last year with a career-best 29 homers for Milwaukee.

Daniel Norris, Chicago Cubs. Milwaukee already has seen last year's trade-deadline acquisition, who permitted two runs in the season opener. Norris allowed 15 earned runs in just more than 20 innings (6.64 ERA) with Milwaukee last year after coming over from Detroit.

Manny Piña, Atlanta Braves. He was a Brewers backstop from 2016-2021, one of the club's longest-tenured players when he signed with the Braves this offseason.

Drew Rasmussen, Tampa Bay Rays. Part of the Adames trade last year, the promising 26-year-old made 10 starts and 20 appearances for the Rays, notching a 2.44 ERA and 0.966 WHIP. He's in the rotation to start this season.

Trevor Richards, Toronto Blue Jays. Acquired last year in the Adames deal, then traded to Toronto for Rowdy Tellez, Richards (a former worker at the Miller Brewery in Milwaukee) had a solid 2021, with a 3.50 ERA and 0.964 WHIP.

Travis Shaw, Boston Red Sox. The hero on opening day last year for Milwaukee, he started out hot in his second go-round with the Brewers but ultimately posted a .616 OPS and .191 batting average in 56 games before getting waived. He's back with Boston, the team with whom he came up in the big leagues, after a successful 28-game stretch last year in Boston (.843 OPS, three homers).

Hunter Strickland, Cincinnati Reds. A huge midseason acquisition last year who posted a 1.73 ERA in 35 games, but now he pitches for an NL Central rival.

Daniel Vogelbach, Pittsburgh Pirates. Vogelbach, who hit nine homers in Milwaukee last year (including an unforgettable grand slam) and posted a .730 OPS, actually batted leadoff for the Pirates on opening day.

Other names you'll recognize

Jesús Aguilar, Miami Marlins. The popular former slugger was a revelation for the Brewers in 2018 but released after struggles the next year. He's now in his third year with the Marlins after swatting 22 home runs last year and posting a .788 OPS.

Jacob Barnes, Detroit Tigers. The reliever was drafted by the Brewers and played in Milwaukee for three-plus seasons. Since his departure in 2019, he's spent time with the Royals, Angels, Mets, Blue Jays and now the Tigers.

Jhoulys Chacín, Colorado Rockies. A revelation in 2018, Chacin was the Brewers opening day starter in 2019 before struggling and getting released later that year. The longtime Rockies player is back where his career started in his second year of his second stint. He worked 64 innings last year and posted a 4.34 ERA.

Ji-Man Choi, Tampa Bay Rays. Traded by the Brewers in 2018 to the Rays, Choi has been a fixture in Tampa ever since. He hit 11 homers last year in 83 games, with a .758 OPS.

Nelson Cruz, Washington Nationals. Forever the one that got away in a fateful trade to the Rangers in 2005, Cruz has just kept hitting. He has a one-year deal worth $15 million at age 41 after an all-star season last year with Minnesota (and eventually Tampa Bay.).

Zach Davies, Arizona Diamondbacks. A Brewers starter from 2015-19, he's with his fourth team in as many seasons. He posted a 5.78 ERA in 32 starts with the Cubs last year and made 12 strong starts with San Diego the year before that.

Mauricio Dubón, San Francisco Giants. Traded for Drew Pomeranz in 2019, He's now in his third year with the Giants. He posted a .655 OPS last year with five home runs and played four different spots on defense.

Alcides Escobar, Washington Nationals. Escobar wasn't in MLB baseball in 2019 or 2020, but this will be his second year with the Nationals after posting a .744 OPS last year. He had a hit in the season opener. The shortstop played for Milwaukee in 2009 and 2010 before going to Kansas City in the trade that brought Zack Greinke to Milwaukee.

Paolo Espino, Washington Nationals. Briefly a Brewer in 2017 for 17⅔ innings, Espino resurfaced after three years away from the big leagues in 2020 with the Nationals. He posted a 4.27 ERA last year with 19 starts and 35 appearances overall.

Ben Gamel, Pittsburgh Pirates. He spent most of last season with Pittsburgh after his time in Milwaukee in 2019 and 2020. He posted a .750 OPS for the Pirates in 2021, with eight homers.

Yasmani Grandal, Chicago White Sox. The 2019 all-star in Milwaukee signed a big free-agent deal with the White Sox before 2020, and last year, he posted a .939 OPS with the White Sox for the best mark of his career (though in only 93 games).

Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals. Back where his career started, the popular contributor to the 2011 division title allowed a run in 5⅔ innings for Kansas City in the season opener. He was traded by the Brewers in 2012 and has continued to rack up five more all-star appearances in his 30s.

Trent Grisham, San Diego Padres. It became a frowned-upon trade in 2020 when Grisham had a breakout year for the Padres and the Brewers weren't seeing great returns out of Eric Lauer and Luis Urías, for whom Grisham and Zach Davies had been traded. But Lauer and Urías had great 2021 seasons in Milwaukee, and Grisham tapered off last year (.740 OPS, .242 batting average, 15 home runs). He collected a hit in the opener for the Padres.

Deolis Guerra, Oakland Athletics. Remember him? No? He appeared in one Brewers game in 2019 and allowed four runs in two-thirds of an inning. He's in his second year with Oakland (4.11 ERA last year) but is on the 60-day injured list and will have elbow surgery.

Corey Knebel, Philadelphia Phillies. Knebel, an all-star with the Brewers in 2017 and a member of the organization from 2015-2020, had a nice season with the Dodgers last year, going 4-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 25⅔ innings, with three saves and a 0.974 WHIP. He signed a one-year, $10 million contract with Philadelphia this year.

Jorge López, Baltimore Orioles. The Brewers second-round draft pick appeared with the parent club briefly in 2015, 2017 and 2018 before getting traded to Kansas City in the Mike Moustakas deal. This will be his third season with the Orioles.

Jordan Lyles, Baltimore Orioles. He's one of the team's highest-paid players at one year and $7 million after two tough seasons in Texas. He was huge for the Brewers in 2019 (2.45 ERA, 7-1 record) after the club re-acquired him.

Martín Maldonado, Houston Astros. A Brewers catcher from 2011-2016, he continues to contribute well into his 30s. He started on opening day for Houston, where he's played since 2019 in a second go-round with the Astros. The defensive-minded standout struggled at the plate last year (.573 OPS).

Brad Miller, Texas Rangers. Briefly a Brewers infielder in 2018, he's been with Cleveland, Philadelphia (twice) and St. Louis in the years since. He posted a .774 OPS and hit 20 homers last year with the Phillies.

Mike Moustakas, Cincinnati Reds. Moose was a playoff hero in 2018 and all-star in 2019 for the Brewers, and this will be his third year with the Reds, where he's battled injury thus far. He posted a .653 OPS last year.

David Phelps, Toronto Blue Jays. Signed and then traded by the Brewers to Philadelphia during a weird 2020 season, Phelps landed in Toronto last year and posted a 0.87 ERA in 11 games. He's back with the Blue Jays, a bona fide World Series contender, this season.

Brett Phillips, Tampa Bay Rays. The fun-loving World Series hero was traded to Kansas City in the Mike Moustakas deal in 2018, and this will be his second full season with Tampa and third overall. He posted a .727 OPS last year with 14 stolen bases and 13 home runs.

Drew Pomeranz, San Diego Padres. He opened the season on the disabled list, which is a big loss for the Padres after he posted ERAs of 1.45 and 1.75 the past two years. The lefty reliever was a massive pickup for the Brewers in late 2019, posting a .911 WHIP and 2.39 ERA, then signed a four-year deal in San Diego.

Jonathan Schoop, Detroit Tigers. An infamous trade-deadline get in 2018, Schoop has fared much better in the past three seasons than he did in Milwaukee. Last year, he posted a .755 OPS with 22 home runs for the Tigers, and he's still only 30 years old in his third year with the franchise.

Jean Segura, Philadelphia Phillies. One of the key pieces coming to the Brewers in the Greinke trade is still going strong, now in his fourth season with the Phillies. He was an all-star with Milwaukee in 2013, one of his three-plus seasons with the Brewers. He's made stops in Arizona, Seattle and now Philly, finding sustained success each time. He's a career .285 hitter with a .740 OPS.

Will Smith, Atlanta Braves. The "slider of death" reliever with the Brewers from 2014-2016 has had a great career since getting traded, including an all-star campaign with the Giants in 2019 and a World Series ring last year with the Braves, when he saved 37 games. This is his third year with Atlanta.

Tyler Thornburg, Atlanta Braves. It's a comeback story for Thornburg, who didn't pitch at all in 2021 but did work an inning for the Braves in the season opener. In 2016, he was the centerpiece of a trade that grossly favored Milwaukee when Thornburg couldn't stay healthy. He missed all of 2017 and struggled in 2018 and 2019, then briefly saw action with the Reds in 2020.

Jonathan Villar, Chicago Cubs. Villar, last with the Brewers in 2018 before a trade-deadline exchange for Jonathan Schoop, didn't see action in the season opener. He's been with the Orioles, Marlins, Blue Jays and Mets since his last appearance in Milwaukee, swiping 40 stolen bases in 2019 with Baltimore.

Stephen Vogt, Oakland Athletics. It wasn't clear if Vogt's career would continue after an injury-riddled 2018 in Milwaukee (he played with the Brewers in 2017), but the man is still going strong at age 36. He won a ring last year in Atlanta and finished the year with a .616 OPS over two stops (also in Arizona).

Former Brewers minor leaguers

Anthony Banda, Pittsburgh Pirates. Traded by the Brewers in 2014 that sent Mitch Haniger to the Diamondbacks for Gerardo Parra, Banda will be in his second year with the Pirates working out of the bullpen. He posted a 3.42 ERA last year in 25 games with Pittsburgh after getting selected off waivers.

Michael Brantley, Houston Astros. A name many Brewers fans will recall was dealt in the CC Sabathia trade to Cleveland back in 2008, Brantley has had a tremendous career, making the all-star team five times (including last year in his third season with Houston). He notched two hits, including a double, in the opener to his age-35 season.

Garrett Cooper, Miami Marlins. Traded in 2017 to acquire Tyler Webb, Cooper has been a solid big-leaguer with an .845 OPS and .282 career batting average. This is his fifth season with the Marlins, playing first base and right field.

Mitch Haniger, Seattle Mariners. Dealt in 2014 to Arizona for Gerardo Parra, this is really a big one that got away. The 2018 all-star was good again last year for the Mariners, with an .804 OPS and a whopping 39 home runs and 100 RBIs.

Cooper Hummel, Arizona Diamondbacks. Hummel made his major-league debut with a walk in the 2022 season opener. The infielder/outfielder was dealt to Arizona last year along with third-base prospect Alberto Ciprian for Eduardo Escobar.

Payton Henry, Miami Marlins. The catcher was traded last year in the deal that acquired John Curtiss, and he made his major-league debut last year, showing up in five games. The 24-year-old made the roster as the backup to Jacob Stallings this year.

Dylan Moore, Seattle Mariners. Moore appeared to be on the cusp of a callup to the Brewers during the 2018 season but was ultimately granted free agency after the year, and he's been a scrappy contributor to Seattle the past three seasons. In 2020, he delivered an .855 OPS, and he hit 12 homers last year (.610 OPS).

Jake Odorizzi, Houston Astros. A top prospect dealt to Kansas City before 2011 in the Zach Greinke trade, he's fashioned a solid career, with one all-star appearance in 2019 for the Twins. This is his second year in Houston, where he posted a 4.21 ERA last year in 24 appearances (23 starts).

Drew Smyly, Chicago Cubs. He's kept crossing paths with the Brewers since opting out in 2019 and signing with the Phillies, just before Brandon Woodruff's injury would have opened a door for him to make the Brewers roster. He played for Atlanta last year — the team that beat Milwaukee in the postseason — and now he's in the division.

Wisconsin ties

Danny Jansen, Toronto Blue Jays. The Appleton native had a bounceback season offensively in 2021 (.772 OPS, .223 batting average) after a down 2020, though he played in only 70 games. He's back as the starting catcher for an AL pennant contender.

Jarred Kelenic, Seattle Mariners. The Waukesha native is one of the game's most exciting prospects. Though he took his lumps as a rookie last year (.615 OPS, .181 batting average in 337 at-bats), he showed flashes of what he could do, helping the Mariners make a late-season push for the playoffs that fell just short.

Gavin Lux, Los Angeles Dodgers. The door is open for Lux to get some time as the Dodgers starting second baseman, part of a team many have picked to win the World Series. The Kenosha Indian Trail alumnus came into 2021 as a rookie of the year possibility and posted a .692 OPS with seven homers, but the upside remains significant for the 24-year-old.

Owen Miller, Cleveland Guardians. The Ozaukee native walked in his lone plate appearance in the season opener. He racked up 202 plate appearances last year with the Guardians, slugging four home runs and posting a .551 OPS while playing four positions on the diamond.

Ben Rortvedt, New York Yankees. The Verona native is on the injured list to start the season. He made his major league debut last year with the Minnesota Twins but was traded in March.

Jonathan Stiever, Chicago White Sox. He's on the 60-day injured list as he battles back from lat surgery last summer, so he won't be available for the first couple months of the season. The Cedarburg native made his big-league debut in 2020.

Daulton Varsho, Arizona Diamondbacks. Varsho, the Marshfield native who became the first UW-Milwaukee alumnus to reach the big leagues in 2020, came up as a catcher, but he started the opener in center field. The 25-year-old, who caught a no-hitter last year and batted .246 with a .755 OPS and 11 homers, remains a highly intriguing prospect.

Jared Walsh, Los Angeles Angels. A native of Oconomowoc before moving from the area, Walsh will start at first base for the Angels after making the all-star team last year and finishing with 29 homers and an .850 OPS. He's just 28 years old, though he played high school ball in Georgia.

Other connections

Bo Bichette, Toronto Blue Jays. Father Dante played two years for the Brewers. Bo made the all-star team in 2021 and led the American League with 191 hits, finishing with a .298 batting average and .828 OPS.

Zach Plesac, Cleveland Guardians. Uncle Dan Plesac was one of the top pitchers in Brewers history. Zach went 10-6 last year with a 4.67 ERA.

Cal Quantrill, Cleveland Guardians. Big-league father Paul played college baseball at Wisconsin before the school dropped the program. Cal had a 2.89 ERA last year and went 8-3 in 22 starts (40 appearances overall).

Ramón Urias, Baltimore Orioles. The starting third baseman is the brother of Milwaukee's Luis, and he posted a .774 OPS last year.

Seth Beer, Arizona Diamondbacks. He has no connection to Wisconsin but his name is Beer. He had two hits, including a homer, on opening day as the Diamondbacks DH.

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: Former Brewers, Wisconsin players on MLB rosters for opening day