With the Milwaukee Brewers beginning to rebuild its club, it has been long speculated that Doug Melvin would not return as general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2016. The speculation turned into fact today, as the Brewers announced Melvin would step down as GM and take an advisory position with the team.
GM Doug Melvin and #Brewers announce that Melvin will transition into an advisory role with the Club. More coming at http://t.co/srGoDSL6e4.
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 11, 2015
Owner Mark Attanasio said the search for a new general manager will begin immediately. He also said that even though manager Craig Counsell has a few years of front office experience, Attanasio still considers him the manager going forward.
Melvin was named general manager of the Brewers in 2003, and built a losing ball club into a near .500 team year in and year out. The Brewers made the playoffs twice during his reign; 2008 and 2011. He does, however, leave his position with a bang, as he made several noteworthy trades this past trade deadline. He sent Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers to Houston in exchange for highly regarded prospects, and he traded Gerardo Parra to the Orioles for a pitcher who could break into the rotation in 2016. Melvin greatly improved Milwaukee’s farm system this season, which is something Brewers fans should remember as the team works its way back to contention.
According to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, the Brewers will target younger candidates with knowledge of analytics. That would all but rule out recently fired Detroit Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski. While the Brewers will surely look at outside hires, the next GM could already have a position with the team. Ray Montgomery is currently the scouting director for Milwaukee and is someone who is highly respected in Major League Baseball. At 46 years old, he would fit Attanasio’s youth requirement, and his knowledge of not only scouting but analytics as well is impressive.
Milwaukee’s rebuild is just beginning, but with a strengthened minor-league system and soon a fresh new face as general manager, the Brewers future is something to be excited about.
