Brewers promote David Stearns to President of Baseball Operations, will remain as GM

With a surprisingly quick turnaround from rebuilding to contender, Brewers general manager David Stearns suddenly found himself as a hot name for teams in search of a general manager this past winter.

Brewers owner Mark Attanasio blocked teams like the New York Mets or San Francisco Giants from interviewing Stearns, saying he still had time left on his contract. It’s also generally accepted that executives under contract aren’t permitted to interview for lateral moves.

It looks like it’s going to be even tougher for teams to pry Stearns away from the Brewers now, as Stearns is getting a new contract and a promotion to President of Baseball Operations — the same position Theo Epstein holds down south in Chicago.

Unlike in Chicago, Stearns will also still serve as General Manager instead of passing those duties off to someone else.

The promotion and extension figures to keep Stearns in Milwaukee for at least a few more years as the team figures to be in the middle of its contention window.

The Brewers also announced Chief Operating Officer Rick Schlesinger is being promoted to President of Business Operations and also given an extension. That promotion likely does not come as a surprise after he helped land the American Family Insurance naming rights deal this past week.