The Championship Series is now set. The Toronto Blue Jays will host the Seattle Mariners for ALCS Game 1 on Sunday at 7:03 p.m. CT, while the Milwaukee Brewers will host the Los Angeles Dodgers for NLCS Game 1 on Monday at 7:08 p.m. CT. Twins fans may be wondering which of their team's former players to look out for throughout the rest of October. We got you covered.
6 former Twins players who will have chance to win the 2025 World Series
Mariners 2B Jorge Polanco
Polanco sent the Mariners to the ALCS with a walk-off single in the 15th inning in ALDS Game 5 against the Detroit Tigers. He went 4-for-22 in the series, with his other three hits, two of them solo homers off Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, coming in Seattle's 3-2 victory in Game 2.
Polanco arguably had the best season of his career since 2021, hitting .265/.326/.495 (132 wRC+) with 26 home runs and 78 RBIs over 524 plate appearances for Seattle this season. The Mariners re-signed Polanco to a one-year, $7.75 million contract this past offseason after acquiring him from the Twins the previous offseason.
Mariners C/DH Mitch Garver
Garver has mainly been a bench bat for the Mariners this postseason. In five at-bats during the ALDS, the former Twin went 1-for-5 with one walk and one RBI, which occurred on a sacrifice fly in Game 5. Garver, who was with the Twins from 2017-21, hit .209/.297/.343 (86 wRC+) in 290 plate appearances with Seattle during the regular season.
Blue Jays RHP Louis Varland
Although Varland gave up two big homers (a game-tying three-run homer from Aaron Judge and a go-ahead solo homer from Jazz Chisholm) in ALDS Game 3 en route to suffering the loss, the hard-throwing reliever was otherwise lights-out in the ALDS, throwing three scoreless innings over Games 1, 2 and 4. Not to mention, the homer Varland allowed to Judge was on a 101-mph inside fastball on an 0-2 count.
Varland getting traded to the Blue Jays this summer was arguably the biggest surprise the Twins pulled off at the trade deadline, as the right-handed pitcher has five years of control remaining and was one of the Twins' best relievers. Varland wasn't as good with the Blue Jays during the regular season, posting a 4.94 ERA in 23 2/3 innings, while he had a 2.02 ERA in 49 innings with the Twins this season. However, Varland has a 3.56 FIP and 28 strikeouts with Toronto.
Blue Jays 1B Ty France
The Blue Jays placed France, whom they acquired as part of the Varland trade, on the injured list with left oblique inflammation on Sept. 23, and he was left off the ALDS roster. In 103 plate appearances with Toronto during the regular season, France slashed .277/.320/.372. If France cracks the ALCS roster, the Blue Jays will likely use the former Twins first baseman as a pinch hitter.
Dodgers C Ben Rortvedt
Believe it or not, the Dodgers had Rortvedt on their Wild Card and NLDS rosters. Star Dodgers catcher Will Smith has been dealing with an injury, allowing Rortvedt to start both Wild Card Games against the Reds. Smith was good to go in the ALDS, but Rortvedt still got an at-bat in the series. Overall, Rortvedt has gone 3-for-7 with one double and one RBI this postseason.
Rortvedt made his MLB debut with the Twins in 2021. He appeared in 39 games for Minnesota in 2021, slashing .169/.229/.281 for a 41 wRC+ with three home runs in 90 plate appearances before being cut loose.
Brewers RHP Trevor Megill
Megill, who pitched for the Twins in 2022, has been the Brewers' primary closer this year, but manager Pat Murphy has been using him earlier in games when the team gets in trouble during the postseason. The former Twin pitched a scoreless first inning to open Milwaukee's 3-1 victory against the Cubs in NLDS Game 5. He finished the round having pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts over three outings. Megill, who played for Minnesota in 2022, had 30 saves with a 2.49 ERA, 31.3% strikeout rate and 8.9% walk rate for the Brewers during the regular season.