Doug Melvin has decided to step down as the general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, as Adam McCalvy of MLB.com wrote. The Brewers are currently in last place of the National League Central and need someone new to help rebuild a struggling team. 

Milwaukee is currently in last place of their division with a 48-65 record, which places them 24.0 games back of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Red Birds are 71-40, which gives them a .640 winning percentage compared to Milwaukee's .425 winning percentage. 

"I'm 63 years old, and I've been doing this for 20 years," said Melvin, who joined Milwaukee at the end of the 2002 season. "My gut feeling tells me it's time to give Mark the opportunity to look over the next generation of general managers."

The Brewers, along with Melvin, noted that the 63-year old will "transition into an advisory role."

The Brewers will likely interview many candidates during the owners meeting in Chicago this week. Owner Mark Attanasio has hired an executive firm, Korn Ferry, to help with the search for a new general manager.

"We are at the front end of a process. We're trying to look forward to next 5-10 years for Milwaukee Brewers baseball," Attanasio said. 

According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Attanasio will keep Craig Counsell as the team's manager regardless of which general manager is hired. 

Melvin had the first winning season in 12 years for the Brewers in 2005 and made it to the post season in 2008, after not reaching in 25 years. Milwaukee was very close to making it to the World Series in 2011. 

Overall, Melvin has a 1,004-1,052 record over his time with the Brewers. Those numbers rank 18th in the MLB. Melvin finished seven-of-13 seasons under a .500 record, which forced them to have five different managers. 

"I think there is momentum for the new GM," Attanasio said.

As McCalvy of MLB.com wrote, Melvin has already made a financial agreement to keep the former general manager with the club to an extent. The details of the deal and position have not been released. 

"Doug is a resource for our franchise in what is becoming an increasingly complex industry," Attanasio said. "How to best utilize his skill set will depend on who comes in [to fill the GM vacancy]. They're going to have a big say in this. We're getting a new primary decision-maker here.

"But you look around baseball at 30 teams, I don't know there's any team that has just one person who sits there and makes all the decisions. It's just changed."

The Brewers have already begun their rebuilding stage before the July 31 trade deadline. They sent off Carlos Gomez, Aramis Ramirez and Gerardo Parra. In May, the Brewers got rid of Ron Roenicke and gave Counsell the managerial job. It has been an interesting season to say the least for Milwaukee. 

Melvin pitched six seasons in the Minors from 1972-1978 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees, but he only made it to Double-A. The righty from Canada was 16-4 with a 3.87 ERA over 55 appearances at the Double-A level. 

Melvin, now a former general manager, had a 29-19 record with 3.43 ERA over 128 appearances (58 starts) at the Minor League level. After pitching 520.0 innings, Melvin decided to retire and give up on the hope of making to the Majors. 

The former pitcher also has an impressive front-office resume. Melvin was the general manager of the Texas Rangers from 1996-2001, before joining the Brewers. He was also a scout with the Yankees from 1979-1985.