In the wake of David Stearns stepping down after the 2022 season as head of the front office, there was some understandable concern that the Milwaukee Brewers would take a step back no matter who they replaced him with. Rather than hire a hotshot name from outside the organization, the Brewers instead decided to elevate Matt Arnold to president of baseball operations.
In Arnold's first two years on the job, the Brewers have made the playoffs both years. Sure, Milwaukee hasn't been able to shake their playoff demons, but it is still a remarkable start to his tenure. For his work in 2024 running the Brewers, executives ended up voting Arnold MLB Executive of the Year.
Arnold's NL Executive of the Year win the product of nailing a delicate balancing act
There was a certain amount of consternation on the internets with Arnold's win as Padres GM AJ Preller certainly made more flashy additions to a very good San Diego roster and that is fair. However, Preller has burned some bridges with executives during his career and it seems like Arnold's peers appreciate how he was able to navigate the season as a small market team.
Trading Corbin Burnes was certainly painful, but it did yield Joey Ortiz who just put up a 2.7 rWAR season in 2024 in addition to a high upside arm in DL Hall. Arnold also managed to secure a huge part of Milwaukee's future when he got an extension with Jackson Chourio done. Arnold's trade deadline wasn't overly exciting as it yielded just Frankie Montas, but the end result was still yet another NL Central title.
Ultimately, running a baseball team well is more than just spending money wildly and making high profile trades. It is about using what you have at your disposal to the best of your ability and getting the most out of it. With Arnold at the head of the Brewers, they are as good as anyone in baseball at doing just that even if it would certainly help if he had more money to work with.