Report: Mets may be trying to lure David Stearns away from Milwaukee, but the Brewers could promote him

This offseason could be a pivotal one for David Stearns and the direction of the Milwaukee Brewers.

That is, assuming Slingin’ Stearns stays in the Cream City.

The Manhattan native just finished his fifth season as the top decisionmaker for the Brewers, but according to a recent report, the team that Stearns grew up rooting for may be trying to lure him back to the Big Apple.

The Mets are currently going through an ownership change, with the incoming Steve Cohen reportedly set to install Sandy Alderson as club president once he takes over the franchise. The Mets are expected to part ways with current GM Brodie Van Wagenen after all that goes through, and per Peter Gammons, David Stearns has been rumored as his replacement as General Manager. Gammons goes on to say, however, that the Brewers may be moving towards installing Stearns as the club president in order to keep him around, with AGM Matt Arnold also getting a bump up in role.

Stearns has previously been connected to the Mets, with rumors circulating in 2018 that he was considered a candidate to replace Alderson when he had to step away from the team due to a cancer diagnosis. Shortly after that, however, Stearns signed to multiyear contract extension with Milwaukee that added the title “President of Baseball Operations” to his role as General Manager.

Stearns has presided over perhaps the most successful half-decade in team history, with the team posting a cumulative 373-336 record since the start of 2016. After a short rebuild, the Brewers posted consecutive winning seasons from 2017-2019 and the club has qualified for the playoffs in each of the last three seasons, marking a first for the franchise. The Brewers went 29-31 during the shortened 2020 season and snuck into the expanded postseason as the #8 seed before getting swept by the Dodgers.