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David Stearns

Quick Hits: Stearns, Rosenthal, Mets, Vazquez, Cruz

By Sean Bavazzano | May 5, 2022 at 10:55pm CDT

In his latest piece, Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggests Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns is interested in filling a similar position for the Mets in the future. That Stearns might be interested in one day taking over the Mets front office isn’t new, but the timing of such a transition had long been obscured due to Stearns’ questionable contract status. Heyman now clarifies that it is “believed” the Brewers’ top executive can opt out of his contract if the Brewers reach the NLCS this season, after which the Mets would likely pursue him.

New York’s personnel decisions were a hot topic this past winter, as the team hired veteran manager Buck Showalter to lead a new on-field staff and were snubbed by a series of high-profile front office candidates. The Brewers were among the rejectors as well, with Brewers owner Mark Attanasio denying the Mets an opportunity to interview David Stearns on multiple occasions. Ultimately the Mets pivoted and signed Billy Eppler to a four-year contract to serve as their GM, with the industry expectation being that the Mets could install a president of baseball operations down the line. Both the Mets and Brewers are certainly pleased with their front office configurations at the moment, however, as the Eppler and Stearns-led clubs sport records of 19-9 and 18-8, respectively, atop their divisions.

Some other news of note on this Thursday evening…

  • Sticking with the Mets, Heyman suggests that the team is likely to seek relief help at the trade deadline. Right-handed reliever and free agent Trevor Rosenthal could be an early target according to Heyman, as the former closer is expected to hold a pitching showcase in the coming weeks. Reported interest in Rosenthal has been widespread since April, but has yet to manifest into a deal. The 31-year-old Rosenthal is coming off an ill-fated, one-year deal with the A’s in which he failed to throw a regular season pitch for the team due to injury. Before he underwent multiple season-ending surgeries in 2021, Rosenthal was fresh off a triumphant comeback season in which he posted a 1.90 ERA with a 41.8% strikeout percentage as the Royals’ and Padres’ closer.
  • Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez is keeping his options open as he nears free agency at the end of the season, per Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. The longtime Boston catcher figures to have his fair share of suitors should he reach free agency like expected, as he routinely draws plaudits for his defensive work and leadership even as his bat has waxed and waned throughout his career. To that end, the Red Sox picked up a $7MM club option on the veteran receiver this offseason even though his 2021 slash line of .258/.308/.352 paled in comparison to the stout .278/.327/.472 line he posted in the preceding two years. Vazquez is off to a tepid start this season with an OPS of just .524, though slow starts are nothing new for the catcher as he looks to lead his club up and away from a last-place tie with the Orioles.
  • Top Pirates prospect Oneil Cruz lit up the minor leagues last season and regularly draws comparisons to Aaron Judge, but Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette outlines a few reasons to temper expectations for the young slugger. The towering shortstop received a two-game game cameo in the majors last season but was ticketed for more work at Triple-A to begin the 2022 season. Thanks to a .159/.266/.256 start to the season and service time repercussions for Pittsburgh, Mackey figures a return to the big leagues is unlikely to happen in the near future. Another wrinkle to keep an eye out for is Cruz’s adoption of a new position this season: left field. Though the 6 foot 7 inch Cruz has primarily played shortstop since his pro debut, including this season, much has been made of his (in)ability to stick there long-term due to his size. The 23-year-old has plainly stated that he “[doesn’t] want to move to the outfield” however, which may complicate his permanent rise to the big league level. Incumbent Pirate shortstops Cole Tucker and Diego Castillo shouldn’t prove to be large roadblocks for the eventual promotion of a player the industry still holds in incredibly high regard. For now though, Pirates fans will have to wait a while longer for their best prospect to join Ke’Bryan Hayes in the lineup and, potentially, the left side of the infield for years to come.
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Boston Red Sox Milwaukee Brewers New York Mets Pittsburgh Pirates Billy Eppler Christian Vazquez David Stearns Oneil Cruz Red Sox Trevor Rosenthal

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Latest On David Stearns’ Contract

By Steve Adams | February 14, 2022 at 11:49am CDT

Back in October, when the Mets were still in search of a new baseball operations leader, SNY’s Andy Martino reported that Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns — known to be of interest to Mets owner Steve Cohen — may have a vesting option for the 2023 season on his contract. Stearns was already known to be signed through 2022 at the least, and the presence of a clause extending that date through the 2023 season only further reduced the likelihood that he’d be a realistic candidate in Queens.

Now, Martino adds some additional context, writing that Stearns is technically signed through the 2023 season, but his contract allows him to become a free agent this offseason if Milwaukee wins the National League pennant in 2022. Essentially, one of his perks based on the team’s on-field success would be the right to explore his market and field interest from other clubs a year earlier than otherwise scheduled.

The Mets, in particular, are known to covet Stearns. Their courtship of Stearns goes back two years now, as Cohen has sought permission to interview Stearns — and been denied by the Brewers — in each of the past two offseasons. Stearns has always been a long-shot target for the Mets, as most clubs generally only allow executives to interview with other teams if the opportunity in question would mark a promotion. Stearns already has baseball operations autonomy in Milwaukee and holds the title (president, baseball operations) that is now most commonly given to front office leaders.

Even if the Brewers don’t make a World Series appearance and trigger Stearns’ early out, it’s quite possible a fresh round of Mets/Stearns rumors will kick up again this winter nonetheless. After all, nothing had changed from Nov. 2020 to Nov. 2021 — Stearns was still under contract for multiple years — but the Mets still placed him atop their front office wishlist, only to again be rebuffed by the Brewers. Cohen hired Billy Eppler under the title of “general manager,” not “president of baseball operations,” so it’s technically possible that he could hire Stearns to head up the Mets’ baseball operations staff even with Eppler on board as GM.

One way to more firmly put an end to any pursuits of Stearns from rival clubs would be for Brewers owner Mark Attanasio to sign Stearns to a new extension. It’s now been more than three years since Stearns was promoted from general manager to president and signed to the extension on which he’s currently operating. Perhaps Stearns, who’ll turn 37 later this week, is intrigued by the possibility of fielding interest from other clubs and wouldn’t want to explore a new contract at this time, but there’s nothing stopping the Brewers from discussing a Stearns extension during the lockout, should they choose.

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Managers & Top Front Office Executives On Expiring Contracts

By Mark Polishuk | January 1, 2022 at 2:49pm CDT

Now that the new year is upon us, it could also conceivably be the last year for several managers or lead front office executives (i.e. president of baseball operations, general manager, chief baseball officer, or whatever title a club bestows upon its top baseball decision-maker) in their current jobs if their teams don’t enjoy some success in 2022.  With this in mind, here is the list of team personnel facing particular pressure — the managers and top execs who are entering the last guaranteed year of their contracts.

This list is by no means exhaustive.  Firstly, some clubs don’t publicly disclose specifics of management contracts, or even whether or not an employee has signed an extension until weeks or months after the fact.  It could be that some of the names mentioned are already locked up beyond 2022, or perhaps have already signed extensions in the last few weeks that won’t be made official until after the lockout.  While transactions involving Major League players are prohibited during the lockout, teams are free to proceed with normal business involving team personnel, so some club might look to handle other internal matters in advance of the transactional avalanche that will come when the lockout finally ends.

Second of all, any number of factors beyond just contract status can influence an employee’s job status, and sometimes on-field success isn’t enough (just ask former Cardinals skipper Mike Shildt).  However, extra years on a contract is usually the simplest way to gauge just how much leeway a manager or front office boss has, barring something unforeseen.  It’s probably safe to assume that most or all of the names listed wouldn’t mind a little extra job security, if for no other reason than to avoid a season of media questions about their future, or the perception of any “lame duck” status from their own players or staff.

Thanks to Cot’s Baseball Contracts for reference information on some of these contracts.  Onto the list…

Angels: Owner Arte Moreno is a huge Joe Maddon fan, but since bringing Maddon back to the organization on a three-year, $12MM contract, the Halos have recorded two losing seasons.  In fairness to Maddon, he has rarely gotten to deploy an Angels roster at the peak of its potential, as Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, and Shohei Ohtani (who barely pitched in 2020) have been injured or limited for large chunks of Maddon’s tenure.  Since the veteran skipper turns 68 in February, there might also be some question about just how much longer Maddon himself wants to keep up with the grind of a regular-season schedule, especially after the challenges of managing a team through the pandemic.  With the clock ticking on Ohtani’s team control and Trout’s prime, another losing season might inspire some changes in Anaheim.

Astros: Back in November, Dusty Baker received a one-year contract extension that takes the veteran skipper through the 2022 campaign.  It isn’t the type of job security you’d expect for a manager who just took his team to a World Series appearance, but Houston appears content to go year-to-year with Baker, perhaps owing to his age (Baker turns 73 in June).

Athletics: Billy Beane has been running Oakland’s front office since 1997, and while the exact length of his current contract isn’t known, it is probably safe to assume Beane will have his job as long as he wishes.  Beane withdrew his name from consideration from the Mets’ search when New York showed interest in Beane’s services this past fall, and for now, it seems as though he and GM David Forst are preparing to lead the A’s through yet another spin of the payroll-cutting “cycle” so familiar to Oakland fans.  Since Beane also owns a minority share of the team, there would be an added layer of complication for the A’s in removing Beane if they did decide to make a change.

Blue Jays: Manager Charlie Montoyo was initially signed to a three-year deal with a club option for 2022, and the Jays exercised that option last March.  The club might have been taking a bit of a wait-and-see approach by not negotiating any more additional years with Montoyo, but since Toronto won 91 games last season, Montoyo would now seem like a prime candidate for a longer-term deal.  Montoyo has won praise both for the Blue Jays’ success over the last two seasons, and his steady leadership over a difficult period, with the pandemic forcing the Jays to play “home” games in Buffalo and Dunedin before finally returning to Toronto last July.

Brewers: David Stearns’ contract has been the subject of great speculation in recent months, as the Mets were focused on poaching the president of baseball operations away from Milwaukee.  With Billy Eppler now inked to a four-year contract as the Mets’ new GM, it could be that Amazins could be moving away from Stearns, but several other teams might have interest if Stearns is indeed available anytime soon.  The exact length or nature of Stearns’ contract isn’t known, as 2022 might be his last guaranteed year, but there may be a vesting option of some type in place that would keep Stearns with the Brew Crew through the 2023 season.  For his own part, Stearns has said that he is happy with the Brewers, and owner Mark Attanasio obviously covets his PBO, as Attanasio has rejected all overtures from the Mets and other teams to interview Stearns.  There seems to be plenty of leverage on Stearns’ part to either work out another extension with the Brewers, or perhaps wait out the remainder of his deal in Milwaukee and then test the market for a new challenge.

Cubs: 2022 is the last guaranteed year of David Ross’ contract, though the Cubs have a club option for 2023.  It has been a tumultuous two years to begin Ross’ managerial career, between the pandemic, a first-place NL Central finish in 2020, and then a 91-loss season in 2021 after the Cubs went all-in on a rebuild.  However, the acquisitions of Marcus Stroman and Wade Miley are signs that Chicago is looking to compete next season, leaving Ross with the twin challenges of mentoring young talent and also winning some ballgames.  Given the long relationship between Ross and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, it doesn’t seem like Ross’ job is in much jeopardy, and an extension (even if just an early call on that 2023 option) wouldn’t be a shock.

Diamondbacks: Manager Torey Lovullo spent much of the 2021 season as a lame duck before signing an extension in September that covers 2022 and also provides the D’Backs with a club option for 2023.  Given how poorly the Diamondbacks have played over the last two seasons, this new deal gives the Snakes some flexibility to move on from Lovullo next fall, but obviously Lovullo wasn’t considered the reason for the team’s struggles.  There is also some uncertainty about Mike Hazen’s contract status, as the GM signed new multi-year contract of undisclosed length back in 2019, extending Hazen beyond 2020 (the endpoint of his original deal).  If Hazen’s contract is only guaranteed through 2022 and Arizona has another rough season next year, ownership might opt to replace both Hazen and Lovullo and start fresh.

Dodgers: 2022 is Dave Roberts’ last year under contract, as his current deal doesn’t contain any team options.  While Roberts’ postseason decision-making has sometimes been called into question by Los Angeles fans, he hardly bears sole responsibility, and it is also hard to argue with Roberts’ track record — a 542-329 record and a World Series title since taking the managerial job in November 2015.  There hasn’t been any indication that the Dodgers are dissatisfied with Roberts’ work, so another extension could be in the pipeline.

Guardians: While Terry Francona isn’t under contract beyond 2022, but team owner Paul Dolan has said that “I feel like we’re now in a situation where he’s going to be here until he decides not to manage.”  This puts the ball squarely in Francona’s court, as the veteran manager plans to return at least through next season after health problems limited his participation in both 2020 and 2021.  Also, the contract details of president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti aren’t publicly known, but there hasn’t been any indication that Dolan is looking move on from the longtime executive.

Marlins: Don Mattingly’s 2022 club option was picked up over the summer, putting “Donnie Baseball” in line for what will be his seventh season managing the Fish.  Much of that time has been spent overseeing a rebuilding team, but with Miami reaching the postseason in 2020 and now making some aggressive offseason moves, Mattingly and his staff will be facing some higher expectations.  The Marlins could opt to let at least some of the season play out before deciding on Mattingly’s future, or if they’re confident that Mattingly is the one to lead the Fish into an era of winning baseball, they could have some talks about a longer-term deal this spring.

Orioles: Executive VP/general manager Mike Elias and manager Brandon Hyde are each entering their fourth season with the team.  Hyde signed an extension last year that covers at least the 2022 season, while the initial length of Elias’ contract wasn’t known.  Even if 2022 is the last season of Elias’ deal, it doesn’t seem like Orioles ownership would cut him loose before the results of the club’s extensive rebuild have been at all realized.  The same could be said for Hyde, though it wouldn’t be the first time a rebuilding team has employed one manager to shepherd it through the tough years, and then hired another skipper when the club began to turn the corner towards contention.

Phillies: Joe Girardi is now entering the last guaranteed season of his initial three-year contract, and the Phillies hold a club option on the former World Series-winning manager for 2023.  An 82-80 record represented Philadelphia’s first winning season since 2011, though it was still an underwhelming result for a team heavy in high-priced stars.  Girardi himself hasn’t received much too much blame (at least by Philadelphia standards) for the Phils’ lack of success, and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is on record as saying that Girardi “did a good job for us” last year.  There are some parallels to Maddon’s situation, as both he and Girardi are veteran skippers under win-now pressure for big-market teams, except Girardi doesn’t have the longstanding ties to Phillies ownership as Maddon does in Anaheim.  With the club option in mind, the Phils might see what 2022 entails before deciding on an extension for Girardi.

Pirates: This is a speculative entry, since the terms of Derek Shelton’s deal weren’t released when he was hired as Pittsburgh’s manager in November 2019.  If Shelton was given a three-year contract (a pretty standard pact for a first-time manager), he’d now be entering his last guaranteed year.  Since the Pirates are still rebuilding, Shelton isn’t under much pressure to start winning games immediately, so it doesn’t seem at this point like his job is in any danger.

Rangers: Another speculative case, as president of baseball operations Jon Daniels signed a contract extension back in June 2018, lengthening a deal that was set to expire at the end of the 2018 campaign.  If that extension happened to be a four-year pact, then, Daniels has only one year remaining.  While Daniels has spent much of his most recent contract rebuilding the roster, this winter’s massive spending splurge is a clear sign that Texas is ready to start winning.  One would guess that ownership wouldn’t sign off on hundreds of millions in player contracts if they had any misgivings about keeping Daniels around, so another extension wouldn’t be a surprise.  Daniels is quietly one of baseball’s longest-tenured front office bosses, as he has been running the Rangers’ baseball ops department since October 2005, when he was only 28 years old.

Rockies: Bud Black is entering his sixth and what might be his final year as Rockies manager, as his three-year contract expires at season’s end.  New GM Bill Schmidt has indicated that the team might explore a new deal with Black, and since Schmidt is a longtime member of Colorado’s front office, the Rockies might not have the disconnect that sometimes exists between an incumbent skipper and a new front office boss who wants their own hire running the dugout.  Even though owner Dick Monfort is known for his loyalty to familiar employees, managers don’t have quite as much slack — both Walt Weiss and Jim Tracy (Black’s predecessors) resigned from the Rockies’ managerial post after four seasons apiece.

Royals: Like Shelton, Mike Matheny was also hired following the 2019 season, so this would be the final guaranteed year of Matheny’s deal if he signed a three-year term.  That said, Matheny might have gotten a longer deal, owing to his past experience as manager of the Cardinals, and due to his standing as something of a manager-in-waiting in Kansas City with Ned Yost on the verge of retirement.  The Royals were aggressive last winter but managed only a 74-88 record in 2021, and if the team again doesn’t take a step forward, there could be some whispers about whether or not Matheny is the right choice for the manager’s job.  Then again, president of baseball operations Dayton Moore has traditionally been big on institutional loyalty, so Matheny’s job isn’t necessarily on the line if the Royals don’t at least crack the .500 mark.

Twins: Manager Rocco Baldelli received a four-year contract with multiple club options when he was hired following the 2018 season, so Baldelli is now entering his final guaranteed year.  The existence of those club options puts Baldelli under team control through at least 2024, yet while Baldelli isn’t a true lame duck, he does face some pressure in getting the Twins on track following a very disappointing season.  If the Twins underachieve again, Baldelli might be on the hot seat, though he did lead Minnesota to the postseason in his first two years as skipper.

White Sox: Another team that doesn’t publicize management contracts, both executive VP Kenny Williams and GM Rick Hahn signed extensions in 2017 of unspecified length.  Since that time, the duo has overseen a rebuild and a payroll increase that has thus far resulted in playoff appearances in both 2020 and 2021, though the White Sox have yet to win a series.  Though owner Jerry Reinsdorf is definitely aiming to capture another championship, it seems like it would take a major collapse for him to think about replacing Williams or Hahn, who have each been with the franchise for decades.  Depending on their contractual status, Williams and Hahn could even be in line for extensions, if such deals haven’t already quieted been inked.

Yankees: As any Bronx fan can tell you, the Yankees have gone 12 seasons without as much as an AL pennant, though the club has reached the playoffs nine times in that span and always posted winning records.  Despite this relative title drought by Yankees standards, owner Hal Steinbrenner appears satisfied with the work done by longtime GM Brian Cashman, and there doesn’t appear to be much chance of a front office change.  It may be quite a while before we hear whether or not Cashman is officially staying, as several of his contracts have been settled either around the end of the season, or sometimes well into the offseason.  Cashman’s last deal (a five-year, $25MM contract covering the 2018-22 campaigns) wasn’t fully put into place until December 2017.

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Mets Still Targeting David Stearns After His Brewers Contract Ends

By Mark Polishuk | November 11, 2021 at 1:15pm CDT

1:15PM: Stearns is “happily employed” with the Brewers, he told MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  Stearns also declined to clarify how many years or possible years may remain on his Brewers contract.

8:14AM: The Mets have twice been denied in their attempts to interview David Stearns about their president of baseball operations job, as Brewers owner Mark Attanasio declined the Mets’ requests both last season and earlier this offseason.  However, the Mets are seemingly prepared to simply wait the Brewers out, as The Athletic’s Tim Britton, Britt Ghiroli, and Ken Rosenthal report that New York will approach Stearns about their front office vacancy next winter, when his contract with the Brewers may or may not be up.

In the interim, the Mets’ search has been focused on assistant general manager types, who would become the club’s GM in 2022.  (Former Nationals AGM Adam Cromie has recently emerged as a favorite for the job.)  Should the Mets’ plan to land Stearns come to fruition, Cromie or whomever ends up in the GM role would then become the ops department’s chief lieutenant to Stearns, who would carry the official PBO title and sit at the top of the Amazins’ decision-making pyramid.

It would make for an unusual dynamic for at least one season in the team’s front office, not that there has been much normalcy associated with the Mets’ very public search to date.  Several potential candidates have already declined interviews with the Mets, quite likely because of the associated uncertainty.  Looking it from the perspective of an assistant GM, if you’re comfortable with your current team, why take the risk of accepting what might be a one-year job, should Stearns (or another incoming boss that you aren’t familiar with) decides that they want their own handpicked GM as their top lieutenant?

Waiting for Stearns also carries its own set of challenges for the Mets.  “Stearns has serious interest in the position,” Britton/Ghiroli/Rosenthal write, which isn’t really surprising given that Stearns grew up as a Mets fan in New York and even interned in the club’s front office in 2008.  It could be that some unofficial back-channel communication may have already taken place between the two sides, though Stearns’ feelings about the job could change if and when he has a formal interview with team officials.  (It can also be assumed that Attanasio would likely be on the lookout for any sort of early talks of any kind between Stearns and the Mets, should he feel tampering is taking place.)

Stearns has also enjoyed a lot of success in Milwaukee, and could prefer to remain with the Brewers on another contract extension, or perhaps even investigate a potential job opening with another team besides the Brewers or Mets.  Plus, Stearns’ contractual situation is a little unclear.  The Mets reportedly believe Stearns will be available next winter, though reports have suggested some type of vesting option could be in place for Stearns to remain with in Milwaukee through the 2023 season.  If this option does exist and it vests, the Mets would find themselves putting their front office plans on hold for yet another season — assuming Stearns would remain at the top of their list, and another executive didn’t emerge in the interim.

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Brewers Deny Mets Permission To Interview David Stearns

By Darragh McDonald | October 18, 2021 at 10:05am CDT

The Mets will not be permitted to interview Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns for their comparable position, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman relays that Brewers’ owner Mark Attanasio officially denied the request over the weekend, thus eliminating Stearns from the running for the job in New York.

Stearns has been with the Brewers over six years now, originally being hired as the general manager in September of 2015. He was signed to an extension and promoted to his current presidential position in January of 2019. It had been speculated by some that he might be a good fit for the Mets job on account of his Manhattan roots and because 2022 is the last year remaining on that extension. However, teams generally have to grant permission for other clubs to interview their front office employees, unless there’s a promotion involved. Since Stearns already possesses the president title being offered by the Mets, that’s not the case here. There was also a recent report that there is a vesting option in the contract for 2023, though that is unconfirmed and the conditions that would cause the option to vest are not known.

The Mets’ search will now continue with one more name off the list. The three most-cited names rumored to be in the running for the job over the past few months have been Stearns, Theo Epstein and Billy Beane, with the former two now both out of the running. The Mets could turn their attention to Beane, although it’s unclear if the Athletics’ executive vice-president is interested in the position, or if the club would allow him to be interviewed for it.

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David Stearns May Have Vesting Option For 2023

By Darragh McDonald | October 17, 2021 at 10:33am CDT

As the Mets continue their search for a new president of baseball operations, they may have to change tack, according to Andy Martino of SNY. It has long been reported that the top tier of their preferred candidates included Theo Epstein, Billy Beane and David Stearns. Martino reports that the Mets’ confidence of landing any of the three is apparently low, leading to them consider a change of strategy and targeting younger executives.

Stearns, the youngest of the group at 36, has had his name connected to the Mets in rumors for a while now, as it was widely believed the Manhattan native was entering the last year of his contract with the Brewers. However, Martino says it is “now believed” that the club has a vesting option for his services for 2023. It’s unclear what conditions need to be met for the option to vest, but that is a noteworthy development, if true. As Martino himself notes, this changes the calculation of how much leverage the Mets would have to compel Milwaukee to allow negotiations to take place. Many have speculated that the Brewers could allow Stearns to consider outside opportunities because he is nearing the end of his contract. But if that is not actually the case, it makes it less likely that they would be open to such a scenario.

Dodgers’ assistant general manager Brandon Gomes, 37 years old, has already been reported to be one of those under consideration, though Martino reports that the Dodgers could promote him to general manager in order to keep him from taking a GM job with the Mets. Martino also floats Brewers general manager Matt Arnold and Giants general manager Scott Harris as those that “could be in the mix.”

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Brewers Notes: Hiura, Yelich, Stearns

By Anthony Franco | October 15, 2021 at 10:24pm CDT

The Brewers were bumped from the postseason earlier this week, losing their Division Series against the Braves. Milwaukee president of baseball operations David Stearns met with the media (including Will Sammon of the Athletic and Adam McCalvy of MLB.com) this afternoon to review the 2021 campaign and discuss the club’s upcoming offseason.

Keston Hiura will undergo a minor surgery on his right elbow, Stearns said, although there’s no indication the issue could affect his readiness for Spring Training. Milwaukee’s Opening Day first baseman, Hiura struggled all season. He got off to a horrible start, striking out in 32 of his first 89 plate appearances en route to a .152/.247/.266 line through early May. The Brewers optioned Hiura to Triple-A Nashville at that point. Hiura hit well in the minors, but he still couldn’t find much success against big league pitching. In 108 MLB plate appearances from the time of his first demotion on, he continued to slump to a .181/.264/.330 mark.

At this point, the Brew Crew can’t enter 2022 counting on Hiura to assume an everyday role. Still, he’s a former top ten pick who’s not all that far removed from a huge .303/.368/.570 showing as a rookie in 2019. Milwaukee surely doesn’t want to give up on Hiura entirely, and Stearns floated the idea of getting him some work in the outfield next season. Hiura has only played first and second base as a pro (aside from one 3 1/3 inning stint in left field this year), but it’d be a bit easier for manager Craig Counsell to work him into the lineup if the 25-year-old proves capable of covering the grass on a regular basis.

Christian Yelich won’t have any issue getting everyday reps, but he’ll also be looking to recapture his 2019 level of performance. The former MVP’s numbers have hovered right around league average (.234/.360/.392) over the past couple seasons. It’s an alarming drop-off, surely not what Stearns and the front office had in mind when they inked Yelich to an extension over the 2019-20 offseason that paid him $188.5MM in new money.

Between Yelich’s prior accolades and the organization’s enormous financial commitment to him, it’s no surprise that Stearns says getting the 29-year-old back on track is a key focus this winter. Yelich’s strikeout, walk and hard contact rates are still all solid or better, but his power output has disappeared as his ground-ball percentage has spiked from 43.2% in 2019 to 54.8% this past season. Stearns candidly admitted the organization hasn’t yet diagnosed a root cause of Yelich’s downturn in performance, but he expressed optimism in the potential for a turnaround and noted that Yelich wasn’t being hampered by any health problems.

Stearns’ own status with the franchise has been something of a talking point in recent weeks. The Mets are reportedly interested in speaking with the Manhattan native as part of their search for a new president of baseball operations. Stearns landing in Flushing has never seemed especially likely, though, primarily because he’s under contract with the Brewers through the end of next season. Thus, Milwaukee owner Mark Attanasio would need to grant the Mets permission to interview Stearns. Attanasio hasn’t definitely said whether he’d do so, although he rather coyly responded to the rumors last month (via Sports Illustrated) when he opined that Stearns is “a great executive. … He’s also under contract with us.”

For his part, Stearns mostly deflected attention away from his future, although he didn’t sound like someone anxious to leave Milwaukee. “I think I’ll shy away from any media or external speculation other than to say I’m happy here; my family is happy here. And we’ve got work to do here,” Stearns told reporters today when asked about the chances he makes the jump to the Big Apple.

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Mets To Contact Theo Epstein; Plan To Ask Permission About Billy Beane, David Stearns

By Mark Polishuk | October 2, 2021 at 9:15pm CDT

The Mets’ search for a new president of baseball operations will lead to a chat with Theo Epstein, as MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link) that the Mets are planning to get in touch with Epstein “soon.”  Athletics executive VP Billy Beane and Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns are also on the Mets’ wishlist, as Heyman notes that New York intends to ask the A’s and Brewers for permission to speak with the two executives once Oakland’s season is over, and once Milwaukee’s postseason run is complete.

This isn’t the first time that these three names have been linked to the Mets’ search, and it remains to be seen how serious any of the trio are as candidates — Heyman tweeted just yesterday that Epstein and Stearns were “seen as unlikely gets.”  The pursuits of Beane and Stearns could be ended quickly, of course, if their current teams simply denied the Mets permission for a meeting.  While teams generally allow employees to interview for higher positions with other teams, Beane and Stearns are already atop their respective clubs’ decision-making pyramid.

As of Wednesday, New York hadn’t yet spoken to any candidates, team president Sandy Alderson told The Athletic’s Tim Britton (Twitter thread) and other reporters.  This could make Epstein the first name on the Mets’ list overall, and it would make sense that the team would check in with an unaffiliated potential candidate before tackling the thornier issue of permission from other clubs.

Alderson also noted the interesting detail that the Mets will make a decision on the fate of manager Luis Rojas and the current coaching staff soon after the season is over, even prior to the hiring of a new PoBO.  “I would hope those decisions are made with a new leadership potentially in mind, to make sure they have as much flexibility as possible,” Alderson said, which wouldn’t seem to bode well for Rojas’ chances of being retained.  The wait should be longer in deciding on the future of acting GM Zack Scott, whose next court date related to a DWI charge isn’t until October 7.  Alderson said the Mets will decide on Scott after there has been some resolution in his legal situation.

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Latest On David Stearns’ Contract Status

By Mark Polishuk | September 2, 2021 at 8:43pm CDT

The length of David Stearns’ last contract extension with the Brewers wasn’t made public when the deal was announced in January 2019, though according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, Stearns’ pact will be up at the end of the 2022 season.  Details of Stearns’ first contract with the team also weren’t known, though given the reported terms of the extension, it would hint that Stearns initially signed a four-year deal covering the 2016-19 seasons, thus making his extension a three-year pact.

After first being hired as general manager, Stearns received a promotion to president of baseball operations in his last deal.  Regardless of the title, Stearns’ stewardship of the Milwaukee front office has led to plenty of success.  The Brew Crew have reached the postseason in each of the last three years, and that streak will almost certainly stretch to a fourth year considering the club’s healthy lead in the NL Central.  Milwaukee’s .607 (82-53) win percentage is the fourth-highest of any team in baseball, and the Brewers look like a strong contender to reach the World Series for the second time in franchise history.

Amidst this track record, it is still rather remarkable that Stearns doesn’t even turn 37 years old until February.  If he did enter the open market, it is easy to imagine any number of teams pouncing at the opportunity to hire Stearns to take over their baseball ops department.  Within the last three years, the Giants and Mets each reached out to the Brewers to ask if Stearns could be interviewed for their own front office vacancies, only for Brewers owner Mark Attanasio to deny both requests.

The Mets’ request came just last winter, and they loom as an obvious suitor given the ongoing upheaval in their baseball operations department.  Olney observes that hiring Stearns would be a natural way for Mets owner Steve Cohen to clean house after the tumultuous season, especially given Stearns’ ties to the organization — Stearns is from New York, grew up a Mets fan, and worked as a baseball operations intern for the team in 2008.

What isn’t known, of course, is whether Stearns has any interest in leaving the Brewers.  The two sides still have more than a year to negotiate another extension.  In fact, given the lack of public knowledge about Stearns’ other contracts, it isn’t out of the question that he might already have another extension worked out, and the new deal simply hasn’t yet been announced.

Moving to New York or another larger-market team would offer more payroll flexibility but also much more pressure and media scrutiny.  Stearns would also be taking on the x-factor of working with a new owner like Cohen, as opposed to his familiar relationship with Attanasio.  It is also worth mentioning that while the Brewers have had modest payrolls overall, it isn’t as if Attanasio hasn’t been willing to spend big in certain situations (such as Christian Yelich’s nine-year/$215MM extension, or Lorenzo Cain’s five-year/$80MM free agent deal).  Going forward, the Brew Crew will face some interesting decisions this winter thanks to a pricey arbitration class, yet their proverbial window of contention certainly looks to remain open for the next few seasons.

Should the Brewers win it all this October, however, it is possible that Stearns might view his Milwaukee tenure as a completed challenge, and he’ll then look at his next step.  With only a year left on his contract, Stearns has some leverage to possibly prevent Attanasio from blocking meetings with other teams, so Stearns could at least hear what some other suitors have to say.  As one rival executive suggested to Olney, the Brewers could potentially even work out a trade to receive compensation from another team that wants to hire Stearns before his contract is up, similar to how the Cubs worked out a deal with the Red Sox when Theo Epstein was hired away with a year remaining on his Boston deal.

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Brewers Promote Matt Arnold To General Manager

By Steve Adams | November 19, 2020 at 1:43pm CDT

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.

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