Matt Arnold, president of baseball operations for the Milwaukee Brewers, was named Major League Baseball’s Executive of the Year after building a team that won its second consecutive NL Central title in the league’s smallest market.
The award is voted on by executives from all 30 MLB teams before the postseason begins. Arnold is the first person from the Brewers organization to receive this honor.
Milwaukee finished with a 93-69 record and won the NL Central by 10 games, despite losing manager Craig Counsell to the Chicago Cubs in the offseason. The Brewers were eliminated in the three-game Wild Card Series by the New York Mets.
Arnold made several key moves, including promoting bench coach Pat Murphy to replace Counsell as manager and signing young outfielder Jackson Chourio to an eight-year, $82 million deal before he had even played in a major league game.
Arnold also traded 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes in exchange for left-hander DL Hall and third baseman Joey Ortiz.
Additionally, Arnold’s trades for Jared Koenig and Bryan Hudson helped strengthen one of the best bullpens in baseball. He also signed Rhys Hoskins to play first base and improved the Brewers’ pitching staff by acquiring Aaron Civale and Frankie Montas.
Arnold, 45, joined the Brewers in 2015 as vice president and assistant general manager. He was promoted to general manager in November 2020. After David Stearns stepped down as president of baseball operations following the 2022 season, Arnold took over that role.