David Stearns says he is “really happy in Milwaukee” as General Manager of the Brewers

While there are much more important aspects to the return of Sandy Alderson’s cancer earlier this summer, in baseball terms it means that the front office for the New York Mets has been thrown into flux. The three-headed interim GM monster of John Ricco, J.P. Ricciardi, and Omar Minaya are currently running baseball operations for the Metropolitans after Alderson stepped away to deal with his health concerns, but the expectation around baseball is that the organization will hire a new general manager during the upcoming offseason.

Last week, a report from Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports suggested that David Stearns, currently the general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, could be a candidate for the opening in New York. Stearns was born in Manhattan and grew up rooting for the Mets, so it would be natural for anyone to think that he might be drawn to a job with his hometown team, which also happens to be in a much larger market than the Cream City. In a recent interview on 620 AM in Milwaukee, however, Stearns took the opportunity to assuage any fears about him possibly leaving for the big apple.

“That took me by as much surprise as it took anyone else. I’m really happy in Milwaukee. I don’t have any intention of going anywhere. I’m thrilled to live here, thrilled to work here. That’s where I’ll leave it.”

Stearns has forged an excellent reputation during his three years as the helm in Milwaukee, quickly returning the Brewers from rebuilder to contender thanks to a series of smart and shrewd player moves. He’s also built a highly respected front office staff around him, bringing in Matt Arnold as his assistant, offering promotions to Ray Montgomery, Tod Johnson, and Zach Minasian in the scouting department and Tom Flanagan in player development, and expanding the club’s analytics department.

Under Stearns and his brain trust, Milwaukee has gone from 73 wins in 2016 to 86 last year to a 55-43 record so far in 2018. Although the team slumped during the week before the All-Star Break (while completing a stretch of 21 games in 20 days), Milwaukee is in excellent position to make the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons. The Brewers trail the Cubs by 2.5 games for first place in the NL Central and the team currently holds the #1 Wild Card slot, so they would be in the postseason if the season ended today.

Hopefully the relationship between David Stearns and the Milwaukee Brewers will continue to remain strong and productive for many, many years going forward.