Report: Brewers owner Mark Attanasio ‘deferring’ to GM David Stearns in trade talks

There's been some talk recently about a "difference in philosophy" in the Brewers' front office as the trade deadline approaches. According to the reports, Brewers owner/super fan Mark Attanasio would like to see the team capitalize on some unexpected success and make a push for a big midseason addition, while the folks in baseball operations are taking a more conservative approach.

That led some people to worry about Attanasio possibly meddling in the situation and putting pressure on David Stearns & Co. to get a major deal -- like for Oakland's Sonny Gray -- done. Jon Heyman says those people can relax.

Attanasio, who only rarely has over-ruled his baseball people, seems to be deferring to his baseball people, who’ve done a terrific job and have them well ahead of schedule – thus, it came as no surprise that the Brewers were said to have "backed off" in talks for Sonny Gray. Attanasio understandably is thrilled with the way things have gone, and is said to very much respect the process that’s helped them get to this spot. New GM David Stearns and his guys have made several very good trades (and so did his predecessor Doug Melvin), putting them ahead of their rebuild schedule by a year or even two.

Heyman says the A's are believed to be asking for Lewis Brinson, although the Brewers' other outfield prospects are in play. Heyman cites a recent report from Joel Sherman of the New York Post saying Milwaukee offered Corey Ray and Luis Ortiz for Jose Quintana before he was ultimately dealt to the Cubs. Sherman says Stearns may be willing to offer one of those two (or both) for Gray, who has a 1.37 ERA in his last 6 starts.

It appears that while Attanasio would love to see his team make the most of a situation -- even with the recent slide, you don't know if the Brewers will be within a half-game of first place this late next season -- he's still giving Stearns free reign to do what he thinks is best for the next few seasons, and isn't forcing a panic move. That's probably the right call, considering the moves that have gotten the team to this point. Of course, that doesn’t mean the Brewers won’t make a big move between now and Monday afternoon — just that it won’t be at the direction of ownership.

Statistics courtesy of Baseball Reference