David Stearns steps down as Brewers' president of baseball ops

Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns is stepping down but will remain with the organization in an advisory role.

The lead role in overseeing baseball operations will be taken over by the Brewers' senior vice president and general manager Matt Arnold.

The Brewers had their greatest run of sustained success under the leadership of Stearns. He was named president of baseball operations before the start of the season.

This is not an easy decision for me and I have been wrestling with it for a long time. "Mark Attanasio and I have had an open dialogue and we both knew this day was coming." It has been a priority for both of us that any transition would take place while the organization is in a good place with good leadership and a talented roster. Today that is the case.

A news conference is going to be held.

The Brewers' streak of four straight playoff appearances came to an end this season when they went 86-76 and finished a game behind Philadelphia for the final wild-card spot.

The acquisition of Christian Yelich helped turn the Brewers into a legit contender. When the Brewers reached the NL Championship Series and fell a game short of the World Series, Christian Yelich was named the NL's Most Valuable Player. The following season, Yelich was voted the Most Valuable Player.

The trade of four-time All-Star closer Josh Hader to the San Diego Padres at the trade deadline was criticized by many people. The Brewers had a three-game NL Central lead at the time of the trade, but faded out of the playoffs after Hader's departure. The Padres made it to the NLCS.