Report: David Stearns can become a free agent from Brewers with a NL Pennant in 2022

Since Doug Melvin stepped down from the Brewers leadership role in 2015, the Brewers have been led by David Stearns, originally as the general manager and then as president of baseball operations. During that time, the Brewers have become a perennial contender, making the playoffs in four straight seasons as well as an appearance in the NLCS. That has made him a desirable target to poach, and one team that has been after him has been the Mets. The Brewers have regularly declined the Mets advances to interview him, and even promoted Stearns to help prevent that.

Yesterday, a new report came out that could change the field in this pursuit. Andy Martino of SNY reports that Stearns has a clause in his contract that would allow him to become a free agent if the Brewers win the NL Pennant in 2022. If the Brewers do not win the NL Pennant, Stearns would remain under contract through the 2023 season. It’s an interesting twist to the whole situation, and as a person who grew up in New York as a Mets fan, it might be a position that Stearns would want to pursue.

While the opportunity could be present, there’s also several caveats to a report like this. First of all, there’s been no confirmation that Stearns is even interested in the position. Both he and owner Mark Attanasio declined to comment on the report from Martino. Stearns might have no interest in the position, but we can’t confirm that until he actually has a chance to decline it. Also, winning the NL Pennant is far from a guarantee. Even with a top team, winning in the playoffs is difficult and a lot has to go right for it to happen.

Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors also points out a few possibilities that could happen here. While the Mets did just hire Billy Epstein as their GM, they did not hire a president of baseball operations, meaning a position is still potentially availably there. He also points out that the Brewers could sign Stearns to an extension to further keep him under contract. However, it’s also possible that Stearns isn’t interested in an extension at this time.

David Stearns turns 37 this week, meaning he has a potentially long career ahead of him in baseball. If he continues to succeed, there will always be rumors around him about other opportunities that he could pursue. There’s challenges leading the Brewers, and other teams could offer better situations for him. However, there’s no indication that he wants to leave Milwaukee, and the Brewers are happy with his performance so far.