SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants knew they might face pushback from other organizations as they searched for a new head of baseball operations, and it appears they won't get to speak with one of the best potential candidates.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Larry Baer and Brian Sabean asked to speak to Brewers general manager David Stearns, but Milwaukee owner Mark Attanasio denied permission.
#SFGiants asked to speak to #Brewers GM David Stearns about becoming their president of baseball operations, but Milwaukee owner Mark Attanasio denied permission, sources tell The Athletic. Stearns has at least one year left on his deal, sources say.— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) October 11, 2018
Teams can generally block employees from interviewing for a lateral move, but Baer has said that it's not always automatic that you can secure an interview when offering a promotion.
Stearns, who became a GM at the age of 30, has the Brewers in the National League Championship series. He built a contender in part through savvy trades, including the move to get likely NL MVP Christian Yelich last offseason.
The Giants did reportedly land one interview. San Francisco is set to interview Kim Ng, MLB's senior vice president of baseball operations, according to MLB.com's Chris Haft citing a source. Ng is the highest-ranking, Asian-American female executive in baseball, and was previously a vice president and assistant general manager with the Dodgers.
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A source familiar with the process said it has been a quiet start to the search to find Bobby Evans' replacement, but the Rosenthal report does show a bit about how things are going. At the very least, it's clear that the Giants are aiming high. As expected, they appear to be targeting successful general managers who could come in and take over a baseball operations department.
