Brewers hire 36-year-old Matt Arnold as vice president and assistant GM

General manager David Stearns announced the biggest move of his young tenure with the Brewers on Wednesday, hiring Matt Arnold as vice president and assistant GM.

Stearns, who officially took over as the team's front-office decision-maker last week, said he was "thrilled" to bring Arnold to Milwaukee.

"Matt has touched nearly every aspect of baseball operations during his impressive career," Stearns said. "He has the ability to impact our organization across the entire baseball operations spectrum and will be an integral part of our operation."

Arnold had been with the Tampa Bay Rays since 2007, serving as director of player personnel before joining the Brewers. During his time in Tampa Bay, he assisted Matt Silverman, the Rays' president of baseball operations, with player acquisition, contract negotiation and minor-league evaluation. In addition, he was responsible for foreign and domestic special assignments and managing advance-scouting coverage for the postseason.

According to the Brewers' press release, the 36-year-old Arnold also was in charge of integrating science, biomechanics and human movement analysis within baseball operations throughout the organization.

During his nine years in Tampa Bay, the Rays posted the fourth-best winning percentage in the American League (773-686) and made the playoffs four times, including their first World Series appearance in 2008.

Arnold has 15 seasons of professional baseball experience. Besides working for the Rays, he has been in the baseball operations departments for the Los Angeles Dodgers (2000), Texas Rangers (2002) and Cincinnati Reds (2003-06).

"While leaving an incredible organization in Tampa Bay, I am excited and eternally grateful for the opportunity join the Brewers family," Arnold said. "I am delighted at the prospect of building upon a dynamic environment and facing the challenges ahead together with Mark (Attanasio), David (Stearns), Doug (Melvin), Craig (Counsell) and the baseball operations department. Through hard work, curiosity, and creativity, I intend to work tirelessly with our talented group to bring a championship to Milwaukee."

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