New Milwaukee Brewers general manager David Stearns and manager Craig Counsell answered questions at a forum of season ticket holders at Miller Park on Thursday night.
Both Stearns and Counsell say the top priority is for the Brewers to improve defensively, saying it would create an “immediate impact.”
The 30-year-old Stearns is wrapping up his first month as Doug Melvin’s replacement. He said he’s in “the thick of it” in considering trades brought up by other teams, but he denied national reports that he might deal away all of the Brewers’ veteran players and start over.
Stearns says the team needs a balance of experience, and the goal of every off-season is to find what he calls “cost-controlled, young Major League talent.”
Stearns also said he expects six-time all-Star outfielder Ryan Braun to return to full strength by spring training, after he had his expected post-season surgery on his lower back.