Brewers: 3 Takeaways From David Stearns End Of The Year Press Conference

Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns held his end of the year press conference on Tuesday.  Stearns typically does not reveal much in regards to his off-season plans, but there are some important takeaways from this years conference.  

Here are three takeaways from this years end of the year press conference with David Stearns.

1) David Stearns takes responsibility for missing the post season.

There are several reasons why the 2022 Milwaukee Brewers did not make the post season.   Ultimately, Stearns owned up to it being his responsibility.  However, he does highlight four reasons that contributed to the Brewers missing out on the playoffs.  He sites inconsistent baseball, questionable offense, injuries, and the Josh Hader trade as reasons why the Brewers came up short.

Stearns says he takes responsibility for missing the postseason. “I am accountable for how this organization performs,” he said.

— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) October 11, 2022

Throughout 2022, it felt like the Brewers could not get their pitching and offense to fire on all cylinders simultaneously for prolonged stretches.  The offense was essentially home run or bust and the bullpen blew 16 save opportunities following the trade deadline.  These inconsistencies made it more difficult to string together wins.

Injury wise, the pitching staff was affected the most.  Corbin Burnes was the only starting pitcher who did not miss a start.  In the bullpen, Jake Cousins and Justin Topa spent a vast majority of the season rehabbing injuries.  Luis Perdomo and Trevor Gott had multiple trips on the IL as well.  This led to the Brewers relying upon the likes of Jason Alexander, Peter Strzelecki, Trevor Kelley, and others to cover innings.

Lastly, Stearns sited the Josh Hader trade as a contributing factor to missing out on the play offs.  He indicates that it had a larger impact on the team than he thought it would.  This was very evident as players spoke out several times after the trade deadline regarding upper management and the disruption of the teams chemistry.  Hopefully Stearns can learn from this mistake and not neglect club house chemistry moving forward.

“We don’t get do-overs,” says David Stearns regarding the Josh Hader trade. “Clearly it had a more pronounced impact on the team than I thought it would at the time,” and the corresponding moves (i.e. bullpen/bats) weren’t enough.

— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) October 11, 2022

2) Brewers management likes their core players and wants to keep them together

The Brewers do have a good group of core players.  Among the core group that is under club control is Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Willy Adames, Devin Williams, Aaron Ashby, and Christian Yelich.  Of these players, all are in arbitration except Freddy Peralta, Aaron Ashby, and Christian Yelich.  They signed long term extensions.

During the press conference, Stearns was asked specifically about contract extension for either Corbin Burnes or Brandon Woodruff.  His response was “the goal is always to lock up talented young players”.  If Brewers management truly wants to keep this group together, they should begin contract extension talks with their elite pitchers this off-season.

“Our ownership group is highly motivated to keep this group together,” Stearns says when asked about the possibility of adding talent in the offseason.

— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) October 11, 2022

There are two players who are not under club control for 2023 that Stearns may also want to retain in order to keep this group together.  That is Kolten Wong and Brad Boxberger.  Both have club options for next season.  If management is truly highly motivated to keep this group together then they will ignore the money owed next year and bring both of them back.

3) Expect the Brewers to acquire a few new pitchers this off-season

As mentioned earlier, the Brewers pitching staff was hampered with injuries in 2022.  This often lead to less than ideal pitching matchups.  That being said, pitching depth is an area that Stearns indicated will be addressed this off-season.  He plans to do some of this externally.

Many couched GM-speak statements this afternoon, so it’s noteworthy that Stearns mentioned they will need to build starting pitching depth to a greater degree than in 2022: “I do think building pitching depth is important and some of that’s going to have to come externally.”

— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) October 11, 2022

When healthy, the Brewers have a very sound starting rotation.  They also have a closer in Devin Williams to build a bullpen around.  Of Brewers arbitration players, 11 of the 18 are pitchers.  There could be some surprise non-tenders this off-season that will open the door for some new pitchers who are currently not with the organization.  Within the organization, Ethan Small could take on a larger role in 2023.

Pitching results and outcomes are highly variable from season to season, so it will be interesting to see who the Brewers elect to bring in this off-season.

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