David Stearns steps down, Matt Arnold to take over as president of baseball operations

David Stearns has stepped down as president of baseball operations and will be replaced by Matt Arnold, who has worked alongside Stearns since he joined the Brewers as the team’s general manager in 2015.

Stearns has a year left on his contract so he will stay in an advisory role to ownership and baseball operations, but Arnold will take over as the team’s top executive.

Prior to this season, the Brewers made four consecutive postseason appearances from 2018 to 2021, including an NLCS appearance in 2018. Each appearance ended with the team the Brewers fell to in the postseason making it to the World Series – the Dodgers in 2018, the Nationals in 2019, the Dodgers in 2020, and the Braves in 2021.

After Milwaukee got off to a 32-18 start in 2022, the best 50-game start in franchise history, the Brewers went four games under .500 the rest of the way to finish with an 86-76 record, one game back of the Phillies for the final NL playoff spot.

“This is not an easy decision for me and is something I have been wrestling with for a long time,” Stearns said in a statement as reported by Adam McCalvy. “[Brewers principal owner] Mark Attanasio and I have had an open dialogue and we both knew this day could eventually come. It has been a priority for both of us that any transition would take place while the organization is in a healthy position with solid leadership and a talented roster going forward. That is certainly the case today.”

“I’m very grateful to Mark and all of our staff for their support and efforts throughout my tenure with the Brewers,” Stearns continued. “Matt and I both arrived in 2015 and he is more than ready for this next opportunity. I am committed to serving as a resource to Matt as he sees fit as the organization moves through this transition.”

While Stearns made several major moves during his tenure with Milwaukee, including the additions of Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain ahead of the 2018 season, a new chapter is beginning for the Brewers franchise.