Doug Melvin stepping down as Brewers GM, transitioning to advisory role
Doug Melvin is stepping down as the general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers and will transition to an advisory role with the club, the team announced Tuesday.
Melvin, who has been working under the final year of his contract, believes stepping aside will allow owner Mark Attanasio to take the club in a new direction.
"We're trying to be ahead of the rumors and speculation," Melvin said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Haudricourt. "At some point there has to be a transition from Mark's standpoint and for myself.
"I think it's time to start thinking about giving Mark the opportunity finding his next generation of a general manager. I love what I'm doing; I love Milwaukee. I'd like to see this through as much as I can and get back to playoff baseball."
Melvin has held the position since 2002. The team has hired executive search firm Korn Ferry to immediately organize its GM hunt with the aim of finding younger candidates with knowledge of analytics, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
The team is headed into a potentially lengthy rebuilding process.
"We are at the front end of a process," Attanasio said. "We're trying to look forward to the next 5-10 years for Milwaukee Brewers baseball ... I don't think abrupt change is good for an organization. It can really set you back."
Attanasio, who's currently at the owners meetings in Chicago, has already assembled a tentative list of potential candidates, and he'll begin asking permission to interview them immediately.
McCalvy believes former Detroit Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski wouldn't be a fit for the rebuilding Brewers, and it's unclear if Attanasio plans to discuss the vacancy with him.
Listening to Mark A's criteria for next GM, Dave Dombrowski is not a fit. Let's drop that rumor.
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) August 11, 2015
Some of Melvin's greatest moves as GM of the franchise include drafting Yovani Gallardo and Ryan Braun, as well as trading for pitchers CC Sabathia and Zack Greinke.
The Brewers compiled a 1,004-1,052 record and made the playoffs twice during Melvin's tenure, but also finished with a sub-.500 record in seven seasons.