A few days after the end of their season, Matt Arnold and Pat Murphy met with the press on Thursday for their year-end press conference. Murphy talked about the Dodgers series and gave some interesting thoughts on his team, and we also got a few news tidbits.
Murphy discusses the Dodgers series
Not that we need to spend much time on this, but Murphy did discuss his team’s underperformance in the National League Championship Series a bit. What I found most interesting was how he discussed how the Cubs series took a lot out of the Brewers and may have affected them in the next round. I hadn’t really thought about that, but especially for a team that hasn’t seen much postseason play, I could see that as a real factor.
Matt Arnold has been promoted
Arnold was already the top figure in the Brewers’ front office, but he has officially added the title of President of Baseball Operations to his role. In terms of Arnold’s day-to-day, this doesn’t change anything, but it does make it harder for other teams to poach him, as MLB teams generally only allow their executives to interview for other positions while under contract if that other position is a promotion rather than a lateral move. There is no front office position higher than POBO, so hypothetically Arnold could only be hired by another team if his contract expires (or if the other team presumably offers compensation).
Of course, we don’t know what Arnold’s contract looks like. This promotion likely earned him a raise, but the Brewers are not required to make those numbers public, so we don’t know what type of contract Arnold has or if this promotion came with an extension.
Arnold is considered one of the very best GMs in the league. He won MLB’s Executive of the Year award in 2024 and has already received the Sporting News version of that award in 2025 and has a good chance of winning the MLB version again this season.
We’ve also received a handful of updates about injured (or not so injured) brewers:
And a few small transactions…
Connor Thomas, who the Brewers took in the Rule 5 draft last season, cleared waivers and opted for free agency. He will be out until at least mid-summer after undergoing surgery on his elbow this season. Thomas played in two games as a Brewer this season, allowing 12 runs, all earned, in 5 1/3 innings.
The Brewers also quietly added left-handed reliever Sammy Peralta, who was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels. Peralta, 27, is now on Milwaukee’s 40-man roster. He has made 30 appearances in the Majors, with a 5.12 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings. He spent most of 2025 at Triple-A Salt Lake, where he made 24 appearances (seven starts) with a 4.33 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 70 2/3 innings.
If you are interested, you can watch the entire press conference here.
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