David Stearns Steps Down as President of Brewers Baseball Operations

David Stearns joined the Brewers in October of 2015 when he was named the general manager. At the time, he was touted as highly intelligent, very into the baseball analytics, and very young. 

Before the 2019 season, Stearns was named the president of baseball operations. Soon after, he hired Matt Arnold to take over the role of general manager. 

Together, they have helped lead the Brewers to four postseason trips in the past five seasons, and this year, they missed the playoffs by one game.  Over the past six seasons, the Brewers have the third most wins in the National League behind only the Dodgers and Braves. 

Adam McCalvy was the first to break the news online. 

A 10:00 press conference this morning will air on MLB Network. 

The decision to step down was not an easy one for Stearns who said that it is he has "been wrestling with for a long time." He continued, "Mark Attanasio and I have had an open dialogue and we both knew this day could eventually come. It has been a priority for both of us that any transition would take place while the organization is in a healthy position with solid leadership and a talented roster going forward. That is certainly the case today." 

The team is certainly talented and filled with players who have helped the team win a lot of games. But the leadership will now come from Matt Arnold. 

Arnold has been in the game for a long time. His first job in baseball came with the Dodgers in 2000. He spent 2002 with the Rangers before four years with the Reds. He then joined the Tampa Bay Rays in 2007 and remained there until 2015 when he joined the Brewers at the same time as Stearns. 

Arnold said, "I want to thank Mark (Attanasio) and David (Stearns) for their support throughout my seven years here. I am excited to be taking the reins in leading our baseball operation efforts." 

Attanasio noted in the team's press release, "While we will miss David, I am excited for the opportunity this provides Matt. Matt is one of the brightest executives in the game. He brings a diverse set of experiences and has been integral to everything we have done as an organization during his time here." 

So Brewers fans, is this a good move for the organization? It will be a very interesting offseason for the team as a lot of very difficult decisions will need to be made.