The Five Days that Defined David Stearns' Tenure
Does Stearns depart as the best executive in franchise history?
Longtime Brewers’ executive David Stearns finally put an end to the persistent rumors, accepting a new role as president of baseball operations for the New York Mets on Tuesday, Jeff Passan of ESPN reported.
The 38-year-old Stearns spent seven years as the Brewers’ top executive, leading the club to a 554-479 record, four postseason appearances, two NL Central titles, and a 2018 campaign that saw the team finish just one win shy of the World Series. Before Stearns took over, the Brewers had reached the postseason just four times in its 46-year history.
Day #1: October 7, 2015
Stearns’ first move as GM was unheralded but became well-documented in the ensuing years. The 30-year-old executive claimed right-hander Junior Guerra off waivers from the White Sox, a Minor League journeyman with four career innings in the Show.
Guerra wound up playing an integral role in the Brewers’ turnaround, tossing 416 innings with a 3.78 ERA (113 ERA+). Guerra’s 2016 season saw him become the first Brewer since CC Sabathia to log 100+ innings with a sub-3.00 ERA.
Waiver claims became a common thread for the young GM. Stearns later acquired key contributors Jesus Aguilar, Jordan Lyles, and Daniel Vogelbach through the waiver wire.
Day #2: January 25, 2018
Sports Illustrated dubbed the seven-player trade with the Cardinals in December 1980, “The Trade that Made Milwaukee Famous.” Nearly four decades later, that December day was finally matched in its significance.
At 5 p.m., Ken Rosenthal reported Christian Yelich had been dealt to Milwaukee in exchange for a package of four prospects, including three ranked in the leaguewide top 100. A mere hour later, All-Star outfielder Lorenzo Cain joined the fold, inking a 5-year, $80 million contract.
The duo propelled the Brewers to a 96-67 finish and their first NL Central title in seven years. Yelich was later named 2018 MVP, won the first (and second) batting titles, earned two All-Star selections, and won two Silver Sluggers. Cain earned his second career All-Star appearance in 2018, later finishing seventh in MVP voting. He finally won his elusive Gold Glove in 2019.
Day #3: October 1, 2018
As the ball settled into Keon Broxton’s glove, the reality set in for the Brewers. Against all odds, they wrestled NL Central supremacy out of the hands of the rival Cubs. The mastermind behind the turnaround was Stearns, who acquired 11 of the team’s top 12 contributors (by WAR).
Following the Cubs’ curse-breaking World Series title, the baseball world’s expectation for the Cubs was a dynasty. Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Willson Contreras, Addison Russell, and Jorge Soler were all 26-or-under when they won the title. A young core coupled with a big market set up the club to be the next sustainably great franchise. Instead, the Brewers unexpectedly took the division from the Cubs’ hands in 2018.
Though the Brewers did not run off a streak of division titles, they knocked off the reigning champ. The triumph represented a changing of the guard, a three-year rebuild coming to fruition.
Day #4: September 11, 2021
The runaway first-place Brewers squared off against a middling Indians club on a rather ordinary September day in Cleveland. What transpired was one of the greatest pitching performances the franchise has ever seen.
A performance since rivaled by Burnes and the bullpen’s recent 10.1 inning no-hit bid in New York, this outing was the one that first cemented Burnes’ status as an elite arm.
The below-average offense managed just three runs, but Burnes and Josh Hader combined to allow just one baserunner, via walk. On display was the dominant pitching that became the Crew’s calling card during the Stearns era.
Stearns is responsible for 15 All-Star selections from seven pitchers, in Hader (4x selection), Burnes (3x selection), Brandon Woodruff (2x selection), Devin Williams (2x selection), Freddy Peralta, Jeremy Jeffress, and Corey Knebel.
From 2017-22, the Brewers were one of six clubs with a sub-4.00 team ERA and 9.0+ K/9, with an impact that continues to this day. The Brewers led MLB in ERA in 2023, with a core of arms acquired by Stearns.
Day #5: August 1, 2022
Aug. 1, 2022 marks the most controversial day of Stearns’ tenure, the day he dealt Josh Hader to San Diego. The first-place Brewers struggled after the trade, ultimately missing the Playoffs by one game. The negative clubhouse impact of the move was cited by players and observers alike.
The debate over who won the trade rages on, as one of the key players sent to Milwaukee, Esteury Ruiz, was later sent to Oakland to acquire William Contreras and Joel Payamps. The two were huge contributors to the 2023 Brewers, as has Hader in San Diego.
Much of the importance of the trade is typological. Stearns saw the need to deal from the Major League roster to boost its chances of perennial contention. Likewise, a Corbin Burnes trade this offseason would surely disappoint the fanbase, but could improve their ability to contend year-after-year.
The trade could have had a much better outcome had it been made following the season, but the strategy is largely unchanged. Many of the team’s elite contributors will wind up being dealt for young and controllable, yet less-established talent. David Stearns laid this foundation continued by Matt Arnold.
The fan reception of David Stearns ranged widely, from skepticism to confidence to disdain. He was faced with the tall task of turning a 68-win club into a contender. Though he ultimately fell short of the highest goal of winning the World Series, Stearns did, indeed, turn the 68-win club into a perennial contender. For that, Brewers’ fans should be forever grateful.