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Brewers Promote Matt Arnold To General Manager

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The Brewers announced Thursday that they’ve promoted assistant general manager Matt Arnold, giving him the title of senior vice president and general manager. David Stearns, the team’s president of baseball operations and general manager, still sits atop Milwaukee’s baseball operations hierarchy but has had the “GM” portion dropped from his title in light of Arnold’s promotion.

The timing of the move likely isn’t a coincidence, as multiple clubs around the game have had GM vacancies open up — with a few still to be filled. Arnold is a well-respected executive who’d surely have generated interest for clubs looking to lure him away with a promotion to a GM post in their own organization. Arnold’s promotion won’t give him the autonomy over baseball operations decisions he might’ve been granted with another club, but it’s a notable bump in stature (and presumably in salary) that will make it more difficult for other teams to hire him away.

“For the past five years, Matt has served an invaluable role in helping to guide our baseball operations group,” Stearns said in a press release announcing the move. “He has contributed to every significant decision we have made and has offered indispensable advice and support throughout that time with the Brewers. Today’s announcement formalizes how we have operated over the last few years. This move provides Matt with the deserved recognition of his tireless work and ensures that our baseball operations leadership group remains intact.”

The 41-year-old Arnold originally came to the Brewers from the Rays organization, where he spent nine seasons in a variety of roles, including director of player personnel. He’s also worked for the Dodgers, Rangers and Reds over the course of a 20-year baseball operations career, occupying roles in scouting, player development and player analysis along the way.

Latest On Mets’ Front Office Search

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4:50pm: “It sounds as if” Athletics general manager David Forst is a target for the Mets, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Forst and Alderson did work together in Oakland for two years, Slusser notes, though it’s unclear whether Forst would be willing to move to a different organization. With executive vice president Billy Beane potentially on his way out, Forst could soon be the head of A’s baseball operations.

12:52pm: The Mets’ front office search has led into the front offices of opposing teams, with mixed results thus far.  The Mets had interest in speaking with Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns, but the Brewers denied the Mets’ request, MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi reports.  In a follow-up tweet from Morosi, he reports that New York also asked the Indians for permission to speak with GM Mike Chernoff about the Mets’ vacant president of baseball operations role, and it isn’t yet known if the Tribe has agreed.

Chernoff is a long-time member of Cleveland’s front office, and he has been working as general manager since October 2015.  He does have some notable ties to the New York area, as Chernoff hails from New Jersey and his father is an executive at New York’s WFAN Radio.  Since Chris Antonetti is still the Tribe’s top decision-maker as the team’s president of baseball operations, the Mets job would represent a promotion for Chernoff (clubs generally don’t block their employees from interviewing for higher jobs up the ladder) and a chance to not only run his own team, but take over one of the more intriguing job opportunities in recent memory.

Since Stearns is already the Brewers’ president of baseball operations, it would be a lateral move to take a similar job in New York, which would explain why the Brewers turned down the Mets’ request.  Stearns signed a contract extension in January 2019 that carried the promotion from GM to president of baseball ops, quite possibly as a way for the Brewers to head off potential headhunting inquiries from other teams.  Stearns is from New York and began his career working in the Mets’ front office, plus his stock as an executive has only risen given the Brewers’ success under his watch.  Milwaukee has reached the postseason in each of the last three years, and finished a game away from the NL pennant in 2018.

While the Mets are known to be looking for both a president of baseball operations and a general manager, Ken Rosenthal and Jayson Stark of The Athletic note the possibility that New York might just hire a GM for now.  “The pool of available executives might not be deep enough for them to hire two top decision-makers to work under” team president Sandy Alderson, Rosenthal/Stark write, listing several names (including Antonetti, Rays GM Erik Neander, and Blue Jays president/CEO Mark Shapiro) seem comfortable in their current positions.

With Alderson approaching his 73rd birthday, the Mets could explore hiring a GM who could then move into a president of baseball ops role and full control of the front office once Alderson stepped down from his current role, having overseen the transition into Steve Cohen’s era of ownership.  Or, that general manager could remain in the position and the Mets could hire an entirely new president of baseball ops should another name (Theo Epstein, perhaps?) enter the picture in a year or so.

Brewers Open To Moving Josh Hader

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The Brewers are looking for offensive upgrades this winter, and they have at least one significant bargaining chip. Milwaukee is open to offers for elite reliever Josh Hader, per Robert Murray of Fansided.

As central as Hader has been to this run of Brewers contention – and as unique a talent as he has been – the Brewers have to at least listen to offers. He’s projected to make $5.65MM this season, and he has another two seasons of control remaining. Now might be the peak of Hader’s trade value.

For the Brewers, he might be a luxury they can no longer afford. Even at his most dominant, Hader maxed out at 2.7 bWAR during the regular season. There’s additional value for Hader’s role in the postseason, however, evidenced by his dominant run of 10 scoreless innings in the 2018 playoffs that played a major role in getting the Brewers to the NLCS. For an NL contender looking to balance to scales against the  juggernaut Dodgers, a weapon like Hader could present a solution.

Besides, it just so happens that the Brewers produced another high-end reliever in Rookie-of-the-Year Devin Williams. As tantalizing as the pair would be at the tail-end of games, the Brewers have other holes to fill and a limited payroll. They had a roughly $97MM payroll in 2020, and they’re already close to that number with arbitration projections for 2021. They could non-tender Corey Knebel to open up about $5MM, but he’s also a high-end bullpen piece at his best – which he wasn’t in 2020 with a 6.08 ERA in 13 1/3 innings.

If they’re serious about upgrading the offense, which Murray notes finished 26th in runs and 24th in OPS, moving a piece like Hader might provide a path. Naysayers may point to the mph he lost on his fastball this season, but he was still among the very best in the game at limiting hard contact (85.4 mph EV), avoiding barrels (14.7 Barrel%), and striking out opposing hitters (39.7 K%) – not to mention a 2.94 xERA that ranks among the top 10% in the game.

Devin Williams, Kyle Lewis Win Rookie Of The Year Awards

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Brewers right-handed reliever Devin Williams and Mariners center fielder Kyle Lewis have won the 2020 Jackie Robinson National League and American League Rookie of the Year awards, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America announced Monday.

Williams was up against Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm and Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth, who tied for second place in the balloting. This is not the first postseason award for the 26-year-old Williams, who already took home NL Reliever of the Year honors.

A second-round pick in 2013, Williams has turned into a gem for the Brewers since debuting in the bigs a year ago. He put up a brilliant .33 ERA/.86 FIP combination with 17.67 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 61.1 percent groundball rate over 27 innings in 2020. Among qualified relievers, the hard-throwing Williams ranked first in ERA, FIP, K/9 and fWAR (1.4). He’s the first pitcher to ever win ROY without making a start or registering a save.

Lewis, now 25, became a Mariner when they selected him 11th overall in 2016. Injury issues slowed Lewis for a bit after that, but he has done nothing but hit since Seattle first called him up in 2019. This past season, Lewis slashed .262/.364/.437 (126 wRC+) with 11 home runs, five stolen bases and 1.7 fWAR over 242 plate appearances. That was enough for Lewis, who won unanimously, to finish ahead of White Sox center fielder Luis Robert and Astros righty Cristian Javier for AL ROY honors.

Brewers Add Quintin Berry To Coaching Staff

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The Brewers announced their 2021 coaching staff Wednesday, which includes a new but familiar name: former big league outfielder Quintin Berry. He’ll take the place of longtime third base coach Ed Sedar, who is transitioning from the dugout to a new role as an advisor to the Major League coaching staff.

Berry, 35, recently wrapped up a 13-year career as an outfielder — one that included parts of five seasons in the Majors. The speedster was a frequent late-season pickup for playoff hopefuls seeking a pinch-running specialist. He logged 94 games with the 2012 Tigers as a rookie but never came close to that mark again, ultimately wrapping up his time in the Majors with a .262/.333/.364 slash with 29 steals in 31 tries over the course of 132 games.

Berry also played in parts of 13 minor league seasons, hitting .257/.350/.327 with a whopping 399 steals. The last of those 13 seasons came in the Brewers organization in 2018, and he’s since been working as a minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator with the Brewers organization.

The rest of the coaching staff will look familiar to Brewers fans. Pat Murphy returns for a sixth season as Craig Counsell’s bench coach. Jason Lane will be one of the two base coaches along with Berry — their specific base designation has not yet been specified. Hitting coach Andy Haines, pitching coach Chris Hook and bullpen coach Steve Karsay are all returning for their third years on the staff. Assistant hitting coach Jacob Cruz is back for a second season, and the Brewers are also returning Walker McKinven as their associate pitching, catching and strategy coach.

Ryon Healy Elects Free Agency

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Brewers infielder Ryon Healy has rejected an outright assignment to Triple-A and has elected to become a free agent, the team announced.  This is the second straight winter that Healy has made such a decision, opting to enter free agency last offseason when the Mariners outrighted him off their 40-man roster.

Healy signed a one-year deal with Milwaukee last December and ended up playing four big league games during the 2020 regular season, though Healy was also the Brewers’ starting designated hitter in Game 2 of their wild card series against the Dodgers.  Injuries (most notably to Ryan Braun) and a lack of hitting depth on the Brewers’ roster led to Healy’s unexpected playoff duty, and he went 0-for-3 in what ended up being Milwaukee’s last game of 2020.

It wasn’t long ago that Healy was a potential building block piece by the Mariners, who acquired him from the A’s in the 2017-18 offseason.  He couldn’t build on the promising numbers he posted in Oakland, however, and simply couldn’t consistently get on base against Major League pitching.  Over 1606 career plate appearances in the big leagues, Healy has hit .261/.298/.450 with 69 home runs.  He was also significantly hampered by injuries in 2019, undergoing hip surgery in August of that year.

Latest On Angels’ GM Search

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OCT. 30, 6:07pm: Brewers assistant GM Matt Arnold has also interviewed with the Angels, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Arnold was a candidate for Pittsburgh’s GM vacancy last winter, but that position went to Ben Cherington.

3:47pm: Ricciardi is not a candidate, Fletcher tweets. Former Giants GM Bobby Evans has received an interview, though, and Mariners assistant GM Justin Hollander (formerly with the Angels) is also in the mix, according to Fletcher. Additionally, they’ve reached out to Eddie Bane, their former scouting director, to gauge his interest in the GM job, Robert Murray reports.

OCT. 29, 11:01pm; Former Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill, Nationals special assistant to the GM Dan Jennings and Cubs VP of player personnel Jason McLeod are also in the running, according to Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.

10:28pm: The Angels have moved slowly to find a new general since firing Billy Eppler at the end of September, but at least a few names have emerged for the job, per reports from Robert Murray, Jon Heyman of MLB Network, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times and Mike Puma of the New York Post.

According to the aforementioned group of reporters, Diamondbacks assistant general managers Jared Porter and Amiel Sawdaye, Athletics assistant Billy Owens and Padres senior advisor Logan White have all interviewed for the job in Anaheim. Giants special advisor J.P. Ricciardi, once the Blue Jays’ GM, is also in the running. The Angels also contacted Cubs vice president of scouting Dan Kantrovitz to gauge his interest in the position, but he’s not a candidate. Kantrovitz turned down the Angels’ overtures and will stay with the Cubs in 2021, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

While both Porter and Sawdaye received new contracts with the Diamondbacks just over a year ago, perhaps they’re amenable to taking over another team’s baseball operations. Owens just finished his 19th season in the A’s front office, though he may be open to a change with executive VP Billy Beane possibly set to pursue other interests. And then there’s White, who previously worked for the Dodgers but has been with the Padres since before 2015.

Of course, anyone succeeding Eppler will be taking over a fairly appealing situation. The Angels have missed the postseason six times in a row, but they have the game’s best player, center fielder Mike Trout, as well as a great complement in third baseman Anthony Rendon. Infielder David Fletcher, two-way player Shohei Ohtani, young outfielder Jo Adell and starters Dylan Bundy and Andrew Heaney are also on hand. Plus, owner Arte Moreno has typically been willing to spend, so the budget shouldn’t be a hindrance for the club’s next GM.

Brewers Decline Options On Gamel, Gyorko, Sogard

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2:18 pm: Sogard’s option will also be declined, relays Adam McCalvy of MLB.com (Twitter link).

12:42 pm: The Brewers are declining Gyorko’s $4.5MM option in lieu of a $1MM buyout, reports Robert Murray (Twitter link). The 32-year-old will return to free agency on the heels of a strong .248/.333/.504 line over 135 plate appearances.

11:33 am: The Brewers are declining their $2.55MM club option on outfielder Ben Gamel, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). The 28-year-old remains eligible for arbitration, however, having accrued just three-plus years of MLB service. Arbitration figures are harder than ever to pin down this offseason thanks to the shortened season, but MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Gamel to earn between $1.7MM and $2.1MM if tendered a contract.

It’s possible the Brewers’ internal metrics also pegged Gamel for a likely lower arbitration salary than the value of the option. In that case, there’d be little reason for the team not to decline the option, even if they plan on keeping him in the fold.

Gamel hit a serviceable but hardly spectacular .237/.315/.404 with three home runs over 127 plate appearances in 2020. That’s in line with his production over the course of his career. The left-handed hitter is probably best suited in a corner, but he’s capable of playing center field if need be.

Milwaukee already declined their half of Ryan Braun’s $15MM mutual option yesterday, making him a free agent. They’ll also have to decide on options for Jedd Gyorko and Eric Sogard, each of whom would hit the open market if their option were declined.

Brewers Decline Ryan Braun’s Option

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8:06pm: The Brewers have declined the option, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays.

7:57pm: Longtime Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun is now a free agent, according to the MLBPA. That suggests the Brewers have turned down their half of a $15MM mutual option for 2021 in favor of a $4MM buyout.

Because of Braun’s recent decline, it’s no surprise that Milwaukee is going this route. Nevertheless, it could bring an end to a fruitful Brewers tenure for Braun. He joined the organization as the fifth overall pick in 2005 and proceeded to turn into one of the most productive players in the history of the franchise.

From his debut in 2007 up until this past season, Braun slashed .296/.358/.532 with 352 home runs, 216 stolen bases and 43.9 fWAR over 7,340 plate appearances. Braun also racked up six All-Star nods, a Rookie of the Year and the 2011 NL MVP Award along the way, though the latter accomplishment has been tainted because of his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal.

Major League Baseball suspended Braun for 65 games in 2013 after finding that he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. The ban cast a pall on what was an excellent career to that point, but Braun has been mostly productive at the plate since then. Injuries have taken their toll in recent years, though, and Braun is now coming off the worst offensive season of his career. The 36-year-old ended 2020 as a .233/.281/.488 hitter with eight home runs in 141 plate appearances, and he racked up almost as many appearances as a designated hitter (16) as he did an outfielder (20).

Braun said as recently as July that he’d like to continue his career in 2021, but that was before his troubles this year. He’ll now have to decide whether to continue in baseball, but if the universal DH doesn’t stick around next season, it won’t do Braun any favors should he seek another contract. Braun’s next deal (if there is one) won’t be especially lucrative.

Brett Phillips, The Rays’ Thrice-Traded Hero

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Despite the new August 31 date and all the uncertainty about how player movement would be impacted by the circumstances of the pandemic-shortened season, the lead-up to the 2020 trade deadline went more or less the same as deadlines past.  Some big names switched uniforms, non-contenders looked to dump salary and add prospects, and just about as always, one unheralded trade ended up paying big dividends in October.

On August 27, the Rays made a move to shore up their bench depth by acquiring Brett Phillips from the Royals in exchange for infield prospect Lucius Fox.  It was one of several seemingly minor swaps Tampa Bay made prior to the August 31 deadline, and while the Rays were already coasting towards a postseason spot by that point, the argument could have been made that a bigger move was necessary to boost their chances at a championship.

Little did we know, the Phillips trade was that move.  Phillips’ ninth-inning RBI single last night started a wild, game-deciding sequence and an 8-7 comeback victory for Tampa in Game 4 of the World Series.  After entering the game as a pinch-runner in the previous inning, Phillips’ first plate appearance since October 7 resulted in his entry into instant legend status in Rays history.

Not bad for a player who was primarily seen as a defensive and pinch-running specialist at the time of his acquisition.  In fact, it’s not bad for a 26-year-old player playing for his fourth different organization, which is perhaps why Phillips was such an unlikely candidate to deliver the Rays’ biggest hit.

Originally a sixth-round pick for the Astros in the 2012 draft, Phillips began to turn heads after a very impressive 2014 season at the A-ball and high-A levels.  He continued to produce into 2015, and while this breakout might have made him into a building block for the rebuilding Astros if it had happened a bit earlier in Phillips’ career, by 2015 the Astros were looking to win.  As such, Houston made a major trade deadline swap with the Brewers that sent Phillips, Josh Hader, Domingo Santana, and Adrian Houser to Milwaukee in exchange for Carlos Gomez, Mike Fiers, and $287,500 in international bonus pool money.

The Astros went on to reach the postseason that year, falling to the Royals in the ALDS, yet the aftershocks of this trade continue to reverberate around baseball.  Gomez ended up being something of a disappointment for Houston that year, though Fiers went on to become a solid member of the Astros’ rotation through their 2017 World Series-winning season and then…well, you know the rest.  On Milwaukee’s end of the deal, Hader developed into one of the game’s best relief aces, Hauser has emerged as an intriguing starter, and Santana delivered some solid production over 351 games for the Brew Crew before he was traded to the Mariners in the 2018-19 offseason.

The one weak link of the Brewers’ trade return, however, was Phillips.  There was no doubt that Phillips had MLB-caliber speed and glovework, except after a promising .799 OPS over 98 plate appearances in 2017, he struggled badly the next season and found himself on the move again.

This time, Phillips was headed to Kansas City (along with right-hander Jorge Lopez) in another deadline deal, as Milwaukee picked up Mike Moustakas for the pennant race.  The Moose was a key part of a Brewers team that came within a game of the 2018 NL pennant, and the Brew Crew reached the playoffs again in 2019 thanks in large part to Moustakas’ All-Star season.  For Phillips, he found himself on another rebuilding team with another opportunity at a fresh start, yet he again couldn’t capitalize — Phillips hit .178/.256/.308 over 236 PA spanning three seasons with the Royals.

As a player who relied on doubles and triples rather than homers, Phillips wasn’t quite a “three true outcomes” player in the minors, though he used a keen batting eye to counter-act his strikeouts and generate a career .274/.362/.478 slash line over 3174 PA.  The problem is, Major League pitchers have feasted on those holes in Phillips’ swing, as he has struck out 133 times in his 383 plate appearances at the big league level.

Phillips’ trade history is indicative of his declining prospect stock, as he went from a headline piece of a blockbuster deal to last August’s swap that didn’t generate many headlines.  Not many headlines, that is, until last night.  While Phillips’ first two trades carried so much import for other teams and players involved, it wasn’t until his third time changing uniforms that Phillips himself now stands as the most important part of a trade.  Phillips is still only 26, and given the Rays’ penchant for finding hidden gems, perhaps last night’s heroics will only raise the curtain on a big second act of Phillips’ Major League career.

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