Decades of Mudcats and Brewers History

The Brewers and Mudcats officially became tied together in 2017 when Milwaukee became Carolina's new MLB parent club. That relationship, of course, expanded a great deal in October of that same year when the Brewers purchased a full stake ownership of the Mudcats. Since then, we've seen former Mudcats like Keston Hiura, Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, Trent Grisham and Devin Williams all make their big league debuts with Milwaukee.

Those players all directly connect our most recent former Mudcats to the Brewers of today, but the links between the two clubs go all the way back to the early 1990s. For example, infielder George Canale played for the Brewers in 1989, 1990 and 1991 before playing for the Mudcats in 1995.

Canale, in what was the penultimate season of his professional career, went on to lead the 1995 Southern League Champion Mudcats in doubles (30), triples (6), home runs (21), RBI (102) and slugging (.503). To this day, Canale’s 102 RBI season in 1995 remains a single season franchise record for the Mudcats. Canale is also the only Mudcat in recorded franchise history to total six hits in a game. He accomplished the feat while going 6-for-9 with a double, two triples and 5 RBI during a 17-inning game vs. Port City on August 12, 1995.

Canale's link to the Brewers and Mudcats is just one of many similar ties between the two teams since Carolina's 1991 inaugural season. We've found over 30 players who have played for both Milwaukee and Carolina at some point in their respective careers.

One of the earliest such links is catcher Keith Osik who played for the 1991, 1992 and 1993 Mudcats before making his MLB debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1996. Osik later played for the Brewers in 2003.

Like Osik, pitchers Brian Shouse and Paul Wagner both played for the Mudcats in 1992 before spending part of their careers with the Brewers. Shouse also played for the 1995 Mudcats and played in parts of three seasons as a reliever with Milwaukee in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Wagner, meanwhile, returned to Carolina in 1997 before being released by Pittsburgh and then signing with Milwaukee. He went on to pitch with the Brewers in 1997 and 1998.

Infielder William Suero made his big league debut with the Brewers in 1992 and played in 18 games for Milwaukee that season. He also appeared in 15 games with Milwaukee in 1993 before being released and later playing for the Mudcats in 1994 after signing with the Pirates.

Catcher Jason Kendall, one of Carolina's all-time greatest players, was both a Mudcat and Brewer in his illustrious career. He was Milwaukee's everyday catcher during their playoff run in 2008 and also played for the Brewers in 2009 in what would be on his final seasons in the big leagues.

Kendall, meanwhile, first played for the Mudcats in 1994 before returning in 1995 where he would go on to earn Southern League MVP honors. Kendall led the Southern League in on-base (.414) and was second in batting (.326) during his tremendous 1995 season. In all, he played in 117 games in 1995 and scored a team high 87 runs for a Mudcats team that won a club record 89 regular season games (95 including playoff victories) and the Southern League title. Kendall was later named to the Southern League Hall of Fame in 2015.

That 1995 Southern League Champion Mudcats team ended up with a plethora of future Brewers as it turns out. The aforementioned Canale, Shouse and Kendall were all members of that '95 championship team and all played in Milwaukee at some point. The same was also true for pitcher Elmer Dessens who played for both the 1995 and 1996 Mudcats well before spending one season with Milwaukee in 2007. Dessens was the first Mudcats pitcher to earn a league ERA title after going 15-8 with a Southern League best 2.49 ERA in 1995.

The 1990s also saw 1996 Carolina shortstop Lou Collier, 1997 outfielder Mark Smith (played for Milwaukee in 2003), 1997/98 pitcher Kane Davis (pitched for the Brewers in 2000 and 2005) and 1999 infielder Elvis Pena go from the Mudcats to the Brewers several years later.

Collier was a Southern League All-Star in 1996 with the Mudcats and later played with Milwaukee in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Collier also shared team MVP honors for the Mudcats after being awarded Carolina's Willie Duke Award with teammate Blaine Beatty in 1996.

Pena first played for Carolina in 1999, but returned in 2000 where he, like Collier, earned a split of the Willie Duke Award with Juan Pierre. Pena was named an All-Star that same year while leading the Southern League with 92 runs and Mudcats' franchise record 48 stolen bases. He was a September call-up in 2000 with Colorado, but was traded to the Brewers before the 2001 season. That trade saw Pena, Mike DeJean and Mark Leiter go to Milwaukee; while Juan Acevedo, Kane Davis and Jose Flores went to Colorado.

The turn of the century also included Mark DiFelice, one of Pena's teammates in 2000, actually make his Major League debut with the Brewers in 2008. DiFelice would also go on to pitch with Milwaukee in 2009 and 2011, well after playing for the Mudcats in both 2000 and 2001.

In 2001, pitcher Jimmy Osting went from pitching briefly with the Mudcats to later reaching the big leagues with the Brewers in 2002. Actually, Osting was originally drafted by the Atlanta Braves, but was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies on July 12, 2000. He was put on waivers following the 2001 season and went on to be signed by the Rockies (Carolina's then parent club) on April 4, 2001, assigned to the Mudcats to start the season and then placed on waivers again. The Padres claimed him on April 11, 2001, but he was granted free agency following that season and signed with Milwaukee in November 2001.

Coincidentally, the trade that saw Osting, and then-Braves prospect Bruce Chen, go from the Braves to the Phillies was made in exchange for Andy Ashby. That name should certainly ring a bell for Mudcats and Brewers fans alike as Andy Ashby's nephew is 2019 Mudcat pitcher Aaron Ashby. Aaron Ashby is one of the Brewers' top ranked prospects and earned Milwaukee's Robin Yount Performance award at years end after pitching for the Mudcats and Low-A Wisconsin in 2019.

The aughts also saw Bobby Chouinard (2002 Mudcats, 1998 Brewers), Josh Wilson (2003/2004 Mudcats, 2011 Brewers), Joe Dillon (2004 Mudcats, 2007/2007 Brewers), Brett Carroll (2006/2007 Mudcats and 2011 Brewers), Burke Badenhop (2008 Mudcats, 2013 Brewers) and Juan Francisco (2009 Mudcats, 2013 Brewers) all don Carolina and Milwaukee uniforms in their respective careers.

Actually, Badenhop pitched for the Mudcats in 2008 after the Marlins, Carolina's parent club at the time, acquired him in a trade with the Detroit Tigers. That trade was a blockbuster as it brought Badenhop, Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller and three others to the Marlins in exchange for two of the Mudcats' all-time greatest players, Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis.

Francisco, meanwhile, led the 2009 Mudcats in homers (22), RBI (74) and slugging (.501) and was both a mid-season and post-season Southern League All-Star in his lone season with Carolina. He went on to play for the Brewers in 2013.

The 2011 Mudcats, much like some of the early 90s Carolina clubs, would also see several future Brewers with outfielder Quintin Berry, catcher Yasmani Grandal and pitcher Justin Lehr all on the same team together. Lehr, however, was with the Brewers before his time with Carolina after spending the 2005 and 2006 seasons in Milwaukee.

Berry played for the Brewers in 2017, but had a breakout season while with Carolina in 2011 as he led that Mudcats team in stolen bases (40), batting average (.297), on base (.399) and walks (52). Berry also stole four bases in a single game twice in 2011 and is currently Milwaukee's roving Outfield and Baserunning Coordinator.

Grandal was a blockbuster free agent signing by Milwaukee before the 2019 season and helped the Brewers reach the playoffs for the second straight year. Grandal played in just 54 games with the Mudcats in 2011 and went on to make his Major League debut with the Cincinnati Reds the next year on June 2, 2012.

Another major piece of Milwaukee's recent winning seasons was former 2012 Mudcat Jesus Aguilar who played with the Brewers in 2017 before becoming a MLB All-Star for the first time in his career the next season in 2018. Aguilar was traded by the Brewers to Tampa Bay late in the 2019 season, but was released by the Rays before being claimed by the Miami Marlins ahead of the 2020 season.

The next bunch of Brewers to make their way from Carolina to Milwaukee all did so following 2017 and after the affiliation agreement between the two entities. Three players from the 2017 Mudcats, including Corbin Burnes (Brewers 2018-Present), Trent Grisham (with Milwaukee in 2019) and Freddy Peralta (Brewers 2018-Present), have gone from Carolina to Milwaukee. So far, two 2018 Mudcats have gone on to make their MLB debuts with the Brewers, including Keston Hiura (Brewers 2019-Present) and Devin Williams (Brewers 2019-Present).

Milwaukee has also sent two MLB rehabbers to the Mudcats since 2017, including Nick Franklin and Gio Gonzalez. Franklin played with Carolina in 2018 (with Milwaukee in 2017 and 2018), while Gonzalez made one appearance with the Mudcats in 2019 (spent parts of 2018 and 2019 with Milwaukee).

Finally, we've seen lots of ties between the Brewers and Mudcats in the managing and coaching ranks as well over the years. The most extensive of those ties perhaps belongs to 1995, 1996 and 1997 Mudcats catcher, and former Ed Hales Award winner, Marcus Hanel. Hanel is currently Milwaukee's Bullpen Catcher and has held that role since 2000. Currently working alongside Hanel in the Milwaukee bullpen is former big leaguer and former 2014 Carolina Pitching Coach Steve Karsay.

Marc Bombard was Carolina's first ever manager in 1991 and also managed in the Brewers system in 1989 with the Texas League's El Paso Diablos. Bombard was actually one of several Carolina skippers to also manage or coach in the Brewers system. Manager Gary Allenson skippered the Mudcats in 2005, but was also a member of the Brewers coaching staff in 2000 and 2002. Allenson also managed Milwaukee's International League and Triple-A club in Louisville in 1998 and 1999. Current Cincinnati Reds skipper David Bell managed the Mudcats from 2009 through 2011 and played briefly with the Brewers in 2006. In 2015, the Mudcats were managed by former big leaguer and former Brewers hitting coach Luis Salazar.

Dave Rajsich was Carolina's pitching coach in 1995 and 1998, but originally began his coaching career in the Milwaukee system after coaching the 1990 AZL Brewers and 1991 Beloit Brewers. Rich Gale was both a pitching coach with the Mudcats in 2006 and a pitching coach in the Brewers system with Triple-A Nashville in 2010 and 2011.

Hitting Coach Theron Todd, who worked with the Mudcats in 1999 and 2000, was also a coach with the Stockton Ports, Milwaukee's California League affiliate, in 1997. Rouglas Odor played for the Brewers before later becoming a hitting coach with the Mudcats in 2013. Edwin Maysonet, who played for the Brewers in 2012, was an assistant coach with the Mudcats in both 2017 and 2018.

Greg Young is the play-by-play broadcaster and Director of Media Relations and Broadcasting for the Carolina Mudcats. Follow the Mudcats on Twitter @CarolinaMudcats.