UPDATE: Per Jon Heyman of CBS Sports:
"Milwaukee is expected to take well into next month before ramping up its efforts to find a new GM, and folks believe they are taking particular interest in 'outside the box' candidates. A strong sense of analytics will be a must. Two names heard early in the process are Dan Kantrovitz from the A's and Jerry Dipoto, the ex-Angels GM (though that one wouldn't be considered that far outside the box)."
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The Milwaukee Brewers are still in search of a general manager. Doug Melvin, who has held the post for 12 full seasons, will step down after 2015. There are many candidates for owner Mark Attanasio to consider, but right now a couple of executives from the Atlanta Braves and Tampa Bay Rays stand out.
The latest rumors indicate the Brewers are considering Braves' assistant general manager John Coppolella and Rays' director of player personnel Matt Arnold, according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. When Ben Cherington left the Boston Red Sox last week it was speculated he could be the top candidate for Milwaukee, but Attanasio acknowledged there is no rush to fill the position.
"Coppolella has long been speculated to be Atlanta's GM of the future, but John Hart is currently serving as the team's president of baseball operations," adds Steve Adams of MLBTradeRumors.com. "Arnold has moved up from Rays pro scouting director to his current position over the past few seasons."
Crasnick also noted Coppolella could indeed "fit the profile" for the Brewers because he "has the blend of youth, analytics and scouting acumen."
Attanasio previously mentioned that the organization wants to move in a different direction and hire a young general manager with a focus on analytics, so any of the names mentioned above seemingly match his description.
However, the sooner the Brewers make their hire, the better. Milwaukee will have competition with others in search of a general manager, including the Miami Marlins, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels, who have executives filling the spot on an interim basis or nobody at all.
Rumors have also indicated it's possible the Seattle Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies will be searching for a GM after the season. Mariners' GM Jack Zduriencik is said to be on the hot seat because of the team's underachieving 2015 season while Phillies' GM Ruben Amaro will have his contract expire at the end of the year and it's unknown if the team will re-sign him.
If there's a larger than expected GM turnover once the season comes to a close, the Brewers could find themselves in an intense race to acquire the candidate of their liking.
