Houston Astros
In November 2012,the Houston Astros,who had lost over 100 games in both of the past two seasons,hired Stearns as assistant general manager,second only to Jeff Luhnow,the general manager. [10] While many organizations have multiple assistant general managers,the Astros employed only Stearns in that role. [13]
When talking about August 2015,Luhnow said of his staff:“There’s several people in our organization that have GM potential,and David’s one of them." [14]
Milwaukee Brewers
On September 21,2015,the Milwaukee Brewers named Stearns their next general manager,succeeding the retiring Doug Melvin,who they announced would remain with the team in an advisory role. [15] At age 30,he became the youngest general manager in MLB and one of the youngest in history;he was one year younger than Brewers star Ryan Braun. [7] [a] At his introductory press conference,Stearns endorsed Craig Counsell as the Brewers' manager. [16]
Stearns fired five of the Brewers' seven coaches [17] and restructured the front office by reassigning Gord Ash,the assistant general manager,and Reid Nichols,the farm director,within the organization [18] and hiring Matt Arnold from the Tampa Bay Rays as assistant general manager. [19] During his first offseason as general manager,Stearns replaced half of the Brewers' 40-man roster. [20] His first transactions included trading Jonathan Lucroy and acquiring Travis Shaw,Eric Thames,and Anthony Swarzak. [21]
In 2018,Stearns signed free agents Lorenzo Cain and Jhoulys Chacin and traded for Christian Yelich,who won the National League MVP in his first season as a Brewer. The Brewers were in second place in the NL Central by the MLB trade deadline. At the deadline,Stearns orchestrated moves to acquire Mike Moustakas,Curtis Granderson,Gio Gonzalez,and Jonathan Schoop. The Brewers went on to win the division after defeating the Chicago Cubs in the 2018 National League Central tie-breaker game,and they beat the Colorado Rockies in the 2018 National League Division Series in three games. However,they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2018 National League Championship Series in seven games. Yelich was named the 2018 NL MVP after the season. Stearns finished second in the MLB Executive of the Year voting but was the highest-voted NL executive. [22]
In January 2019,the Brewers signed Stearns to a contract extension and promoted him to president of baseball operations and general manager. [23] After the 2020 season,the Brewers promoted Matt Arnold to general manager,with Stearns remaining president of baseball operations. [24]
On October 27,2022,the Brewers announced Stearns was stepping down as president of baseball operations and moving into an advisory role with ownership. [25] General Manager Matt Arnold took over baseball operations duties. [25] The move came after a disappointing Brewers season in which the club missed the playoffs for the first time in five years. On August 1,2022,the team traded star closer Josh Hader one day before the trade deadline. At the time,Milwaukee sat in first place in the NL Central but would finish the season seven games behind the St. Louis Cardinals. [26] After they were eliminated from playoff contention on October 3,many pointed to the Hader trade as the turning point in the season. Stearns himself hinted at regretting the move in his season-ending press conference,admitting,"It had a more pronounced impact than I thought it would at the time,and the surrounding moves didn't adequately fortify the team in Josh's absence." [27]
Stearns is generally considered to have presided over one of the most successful stretches in Brewers history,guiding the organization to four consecutive playoff appearances from 2018–2021. Following his resignation,Stearns was regularly connected to president positions with the New York Mets and Houston Astros. [28]
New York Mets
Stearns had been long linked to the New York Mets,whom he had cheered for growing up. Team owner Steve Cohen reached out to the Brewers on two occasions about a front office position only to be rejected both times. [29] His contract with the Brewers ended after the 2023 season. After the New York Mets faced the Philadelphia Phillies in the final game of the 2023 season on October 1,2023,team owner Steve Cohen announced that the Mets had hired Stearns as president of baseball operations. He was introduced the following day;his first major move,announced on October 1,was the termination of manager Buck Showalter. [30] It had been speculated Stearns would reunite with former Brewers manager Craig Counsell;however,Counsell went to the Chicago Cubs and the Mets hired New York Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza. [31]
Stearns planned for the 2024 season to be a transitional one for the Mets. However,despite a 24–35 start,the team significantly improved. During the offseason and regular season,Stearns was noted for making low-risk moves and not pursuing expensive free agents;however,cheaper free agents the Mets acquired were crucial in the team's turnaround. [32] The Mets finished with a record of 89–73,clinching a spot in the 2024 MLB postseason. They then advanced to the 2024 National League Division Series after defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 2–1 in the 2024 National League Wild Card Series, [33] and to the 2024 National League Championship Series after beating the Philadelphia Phillies 3–1 in the Division Series. [34]
Stearns received criticism for how he handled the 2025 season,both for his offseason decisions (particularly those involving the starting rotation) and for his handling of the trade deadline. The Mets regressed from their 2024 record by six games and missed the playoffs by one game. [35]
