Milwaukee Brewers: The 5 Best Moves of the David Stearns Era

The day that many Brewers fans feared would come for the last couple years has finally arrived. Milwaukee’s president of baseball of operations David Stearns announced on Thursday that he is stepping down from his position, though staying with the club in an advisory role.

Since Stearns took over in late 2015, the Milwaukee Brewers franchise has seen an unprecedented level of success. Starting in 2018, the team reached the postseason a franchise record four straight times, which is 50% of the team’s total playoff runs.

To bring the Brewers to the next level, many moves had to be made and some of them were more important to the team’s success than others. They not only helped propel the Crew to the playoffs in the year each move was made, but set the team up for the future as well.

Here are the five best moves that were made for the Brewers during the David Stearns era.

5. Trading for 3B Mike Moustakas at the 2018 Trade Deadline

The Brewers were on the verge of something special in 2018. After putting up a good run the previous year, Milwaukee appeared to have the type of offense that could help end a seven-year playoff drought. But they were locked in a battle with the Chicago Cubs for the division crown.

With a playoff spot in sight, Stearns decided to pull the trigger on a trade to bring in some more offense. On July 27th, the team acquired third baseman Mike Moustakas from the Kansas City Royals for fan favorite outfielder Brett Phillips, who was blocked at the major league level, and pitcher Jorge Lopez.

There was some roster math that would have to be worked out upon the acquisition of “Moose,” however. The Brewers already had a quality third baseman in Travis Shaw, meaning someone would have to switch positions. That someone would be Shaw, who would move over to play a handful of games at second base for the first time in his career.

Well, the plan ended up working. Moustakas would end up slashing .256/.326/.441 with 12 doubles and eight homers in 54 games down the stretch for the Brewers, helping propel the team to a tiebreaking game 163 win over the Cubs to win the NL Central division crown.

That wouldn’t be all, though. Moose would come up big in the playoffs as well, particularly in the first game of the NLDS against the Colorado Rockies where his walkoff hit in the 10th inning would help set the tone for the series.

Moustakas would actually return to the Brewers as a free agent in 2019, another season that would end in a trip to the postseason.

Here are the five best moves that were made for the Brewers during the David Stearns era.

3. Trading for OF Hunter Renfroe last offseason and offloading a bad contract in the process

After getting decent production from the right field position in 2021 in the form of Avisail Garcia, things weren’t looking pretty going into 2022. Garcia had opted to sign with the Marlins as a free agent, leaving Jackie Bradley Jr. to likely man the position.

Though he produced exceptional defense, Bradley Jr. had struggled mightily at the plate in his first season as a Brewer in 2021, hitting a miniscule .163 and striking out 30.8% of the time. That, combined with the $9.5MM he was set to make after exercising his player option, made it seem extremely unlikely that he would be able to be moved.

However unlikely a trade might have been, however, Stearns was miraculously able to pull one off. Right before MLB entered its lockout last offseason, Milwaukee was able to swing a trade, sending Bradley Jr back to the Boston Red Sox with two prospects for outfielder Hunter Renfroe.

Not only were the Brewers out from under Bradley Jr’s contract, but they were also able to significantly upgrade on offense with the addition of Renfroe.

Renfroe would end up being one of the top offensive players for the Brewers during the 2022 season, leading qualified Brewers players in average, slugging, and OPS. And though he spent two short stints on the injured list last season, he finished just shy of giving the team three players with 30-plus homers, ending the year with 29.

Renfroe has one final arbitration year remaining that the Brewers get to decide whether or not to pick up for 2023. That decision is only possible, though, because of the unlikely deal that Stearns was able to pull off out of nowhere.

Here are the five best moves that were made for the Brewers during the David Stearns era.

2. Signing RHP Freddy Peralta to a five-year extension in 2020

Early in the 2018 season, 22-year-old pitcher Freddy Peralta would take the mound in Colorado for what would end up as a stellar debut that saw him strike out 13 of 21 batters in a scoreless, 5.2-inning start. It was the first glimpse at some intriguing potential.

Peralta would have some up-and-down results over the next couple seasons working out of both the rotation and bullpen. But he would always show flashes of that potential ceiling, and eventually, Stearns would decide it was time to lock that talent up for the foreseeable future.

Prior to the 2020 season, Peralta would be signed to a five-year contract extension worth just $15.5MM guaranteed and a possible $30MM if options end up being exercised. Though he finished the previous year in the bullpen, the deal was made with the long-term goal of Peralta being a starter.

Peralta would spend the next year almost solely pitching as a reliever again before moving to the rotation full time in 2021. That season showed exactly why Stearns made the move that he did.

Freddy was outstanding in 2021 as he became part three of a three-headed monster atop the rotation with Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff. In 28 games (27 starts), Peralta would go 10-5 with a 2.81 ERA, 0.970 WHIP, and 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings, making the first All-Star game of his career in the process.

2022 wouldn’t go quite the way he envisioned, largely due to an injury that knocked out a large portion of his season. Still, the numbers weren’t bad at all with a 3.58 ERA and 1.038 WHIP over 18 games (17 starts).

Peralta will all but certainly go into the 2023 season as one of the team’s top three starters once again. And if he continues to put up numbers similar to the last two seasons, he will prove that the contract Stearns signed him to will end up being an absolute steal.

Here are the five best moves that were made for the Brewers during the David Stearns era.

1. Trading for OF Christian Yelich and signing OF Lorenzo Cain on the same day in 2018

Of all the days that Stearns was at Milwaukee’s helm, one stands out as the single most important day of transactions. And Brewers fans know exactly what day that is.

On January 25th, 2018, Stearns started things by completing a blockbuster trade. He acquired outfielder Christian Yelich from the Miami Marlins for a package of four Brewers prospects.

Stearns was not done, though. Later that same day, he would sign World Series champion and former Milwaukee outfielder Lorenzo Cain to a five-year contract as a free agent.

Both would pay immediate dividends. Cain would immediately slot in as the leadoff hitter for the Brewers, getting on base nearly 40% of the time (.395), stealing 30 bases, and making his second career All-Star game.

Yelich, meanwhile, would have a monster season, leading the NL in average (.329), slugging (.598), and OPS (1.000), hitting 36 homers and knocking in 110 runs, and winning the franchise’s first MVP award since Ryan Braun in 2011. And of course, he and Cain would help kick off a run of four consecutive playoff appearances.

Yelich would put up even better numbers in 2019, though a late season knee injury would prevent him from winning back-to-back NL MVP awards. And though Cain’s offensive numbers would dip, he would finally win the first Gold Glove award of his career, an honor he probably should have received much earlier.

Though Yelich has struggled at times since the knee injury, he remains the face of the franchise while Cain was designated for assignment earlier this year after reaching 10 years of MLB service time. No matter what the future holds, that single day is responsible for so much of the joy that Brewers fans have gotten to experience over the last few years. And we have Stearns to thank for that.

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Stearns will be leaving behind quite the legacy from his time molding the roster of the Milwaukee Brewers. These five moves represent the pinnacle of his success during that time.