Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell (30) is shown during the first inning of their game against the Houston Astros Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wis.Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Syndication: Journal Sentinel
(Milwaukee, MI) – With manager Craig Counsell officially on the open market, the Milwaukee Brewers appear to be preparing for the possibility he’ll sign elsewhere.
According to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Brewers have started, “the process of requesting interviews with potential managerial replacements.”
Counsell, who grew up in Wisconsin, may be willing to move on after achieving success with his hometown Brewers. Reports have said he’s interested in helping drive up managerial salaries, which have stagnated in recent years. Former Yankees manager Joe Torre still has the all-time highest salary for a manager, having earned $7.5 million during his final season in New York – in 2007. Theoretically, Counsell would have to leave Milwaukee to get a big pay day. Hoggs’ reporting in the Journal Sentinel suggests the manager is unwilling to take a hometown discount, per “multiple sources.”
Conveniently, the New York Mets and big-spending team owner Steve Cohen are in need of a manager, after parting ways with Buck Showalter. And the Mets have interest in Counsell, though the two sides have yet to have an official meeting or interview.
The Houston Astros and Cleveland Guardians are also in the market for a new skipper, after longtime managers Dusty Baker and Terry Francona decided to retire.
As of Tuesday, the 53-year-old Counsell is able to sign with any club, given his contract with Milwaukee has expired.
A recent report from Jon Heyman and Mike Puma in the New York Post suggested that Counsell is highly interested in New York, given he and his wife like the city.
