Four Former Astros Could Win World Series with Phillies

Game 1 of the World Series is just two days away. And for the Houston Astros, there's a familiar face — Garrett Stubbs — manning the backup catchers position for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Traded for Single-A outfielder Logan Cerny after the 2021 season, Stubbs found a more stable role with the Phillies, starting 32 games behind the dish and appearing in 46 as the second option to his position.

Stubbs was never optioned during the 2022 regular season and has been a member of Philadelphia's postseason roster up to this point. Yet, the lefty hasn't made an appearance at the plate through 11 playoff games.

And of the four listed players on the Phillies roster, Stubbs will likely be the only one seeing the field, if any, in the World Series. But three pitchers were with Philadelphia this season that began their careers with Houston, starting with Kent Emanuel.

Coming back from suspensions in 2021, Emanuel looked like a diamond in the rough. The lefty threw 8.2 innings out of the bullpen for one of the best Major League debuts in the sport's history.

But in his 10th appearance last year, injury struck. Emanuel's season was over, but he avoided Tommy John surgery, leaving him with a better chance of returning sooner in the next season.

Yet, an offseason roster crunch drew him the smallest straw, and he was exposed to waivers and claimed by the Phillies. Emanuel didn't make it back to the Big Leagues in 2022 as rehab assignments turned into a stay in the minors before injuries held him to just 13 starts to round out the year.

The 30-year-old spent the first two months of the season and the last two weeks of September on the 60-day injured list. Alongside Emanuel on that list is Mark Appel — the Astros' first-overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft.

Appel finally reached the Majors in 2022, appearing in six games and hopping between Triple-A Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia two times. The righty's season came to an end on Sept. 5 when he was placed on the 7-day injured list by the Iron Pigs with elbow inflammation, then pushed to the Major League 60-day on Sept. 12.