The New York Mets have received permission from the Milwaukee Brewers to interview skipper Craig Counsell about their managerial vacancy, according to SNY. Counsell, whose contract with Milwaukee expires at the end of October, is expected to interview with the Mets for the position in the near future.
Counsell, 53, has spent the last nine seasons managing the Brewers. He’s amassed a 53.1% winning percentage during that time. He’s also led the Brewers to five playoff berths, including this fall’s National League Wild Card Series loss against the eventual NL champion Arizona Diamondbacks.
Throughout Counsell’s tenure in Milwaukee, he has garnered a reputation for being able to maximize his rosters with clever and progressive strategies. Some may recall the okie-doke Counsell pulled in the 2018 NL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, when he started lefty Wade Miley only to remove him after a single batter in favor of righty Brandon Woodruff. (The Brewers nevertheless lost that game and subsequently the series.)
Counsell has been considered a popular target for the Mets even before they officially fired former skipper Buck Showalter. The Mets hired longtime Brewers executive David Stearns as their new top baseball operations executive after the regular season. Stearns and Counsell, of course, worked closely together throughout their shared time in Milwaukee.
The Mets are coming off one of the most disappointing seasons in Major League Baseball. Despite a majors-leading $330 million Opening Day payroll, the Mets missed the postseason and were sellers at the trade deadline. They finished the year with a 75-87 record and only avoided last place in the NL East by four games.
You can follow along with all of MLB’s managerial and front office vacancies using CBS Sports’ tracker.
