An MLB insider believes there are three major factors that will greatly improve the New York Mets’ chances of making Craig Counsell their new manager next month.
The Mets are expected to be active on the free agent and trade market this winter, however, before they look to improve their roster for 2024 they must find a new manager. The job is currently vacant after Buck Showalter stepped down once David Stearns took over as the team’s new President of Baseball Operations.
When it became known that Stearns was coming aboard and Showalter was out as the manager, there was a great deal of speculation that the organization would target Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell, since the two worked together there. The 53-year-old is in the final year of a contract set to expire on Tuesday, and a conversation with the Mets front office about the job is expected to happen in November.
However, after leading winning teams in six of his nine seasons with the small market club, Counsell is expected to get a lot of interest from other organizations in need of a new manager. One big question hovering over New York’s interest in him is if he and his family would be up for life in a major city like Gotham.
New York Mets will have to pay Craig Counsell big money if they can hire him next month
Well, a new report suggests that will not at all be a problem in the team’s pursuit of Counsell. On Monday, New York Post MLB insiders Jon Heyman and Mike Puma reported “Multiple people mentioned that Counsell and wife, Michelle, very much like New York” and he has “serious” interest in the job.
Furthermore, the veteran baseball reporters claimed that there is another factor that should give the Mets an advantage over other teams interested in hiring Counsell.
- Craig Counsell record (Career): 707-625
“One other issue that may help the Mets is that Counsell is said to be interested in raising the bar for managerial salaries, which have stagnated or even trended lower in recent years, from a high of Joe Torre’s $8 million at his height in the Yankees’ dynasty,” the Post reported.
There is also a third reason New York could be the veteran manager’s next stop. Stearns did not hire Counsell and left his position last year, so it is not a guarantee that the two are looking to work together again. However, the Post reports that Counsell had a “great” relationship with Stearns during their time together in Milwaukee.
There are many signs point to the Mets and Counsell forming a relationship for 2024 and beyond.