Two obvious questions immediately popped up from every Brewers fan and everybody around baseball following this announcement: 1) does this change anything for the team, and 2) is this "advisory role" just a nice way of Stearns saying he is pursuing another job? And as of now I think the answer to both of those is a definitive "NO." Matt Arnold has been Stearns' right hand man since Day 1 of his tenure in Milwaukee, ascending from Assistant GM to GM in 2020 and now to his current role. While Arnold and Stearns row the ship a little differently, they both are still rowing in the same direction. They share a lot of the same philosophies on player development and player evaluations, and with Arnold's scouting background I would expect to see a bit more influence from the scouting department in future decisions. David Stearns undoubtedly chose to step down now not only because of his current contract expiring soon, but because he felt the Brewers were in good hand for him to make the move at this time. And speaking of contract, the elephant in the room in baseball circles is not if Stearns is going to the Mets, but when. He's young, he's from New York, and the Mets have new wealthy ownership and are ready to win. David Cohen practically begged Sandy Alderson to come back to the team as president when he purchased the team, but he is now 74 years old so that has always been viewed as more of a stop-gap measure. Stearns recently turning down an inquiry from the Astros to be their new GM to me only fuels more that he will politely remain in Milwaukee to run out the remaining year of his contract, and then transition to Queens for the 2024 season or soon thereafter.
A big change at the top only adds more excitement to what should be a very interesting and tumultuous offseason for the Brewers. They have a lot of contract decisions to make and a lot of arbitration-eligible players nearing the end of their tenure, a stock of promising players waiting in the wings at AAA, and a lot of areas to find long-term solutions to after a regression in 2022.
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.