Mets set to interview Craig Counsell for manager vacancy, reports say
Craig Counsell could be the next Mets manager. Credit: Getty Images
The Mets finally have access to the top name linked to their manager opening.
They received permission from the Brewers this week to interview Craig Counsell, according to reports Wednesday, opening the door for president of baseball operations David Stearns and Counsell to formally explore a reunion after they worked together in Milwaukee for seven seasons.
Counsell, 53, has been heavily connected to the Mets’ job because of the Stearns connection and because he is about to be a free agent, choosing to pause contract extension negotiations with the Brewers in early September.
Even though the Brewers’ season ended in the first round of the playoffs three weeks ago, they had been making Counsell wait until the actual end of the contract — which runs through this month — before allowing him to talk to other teams. That changed this week, according to SNY, which was the first to report the Brewers’ reversal.
Counsell told reporters near the end of the season that he would be open to listening if other clubs were interested in hiring him.
“That conversation will be open-ended, and we'll see how he wants to handle it,” Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said in early October. “I think he has earned that right. Clearly we want him back, and we'll see what he wants to do.”
Counsell, who played in the majors for 16 seasons, has a 707-625 record in nine seasons with Milwaukee. That run included three NL Central titles — including this year — and five total trips to the playoffs, only one of which resulted in the Brewers getting as far as the NLCS.
The Mets and Brewers are among six teams that have question marks at manager. The others are the Guardians, Angels, Padres, and Astros, with Dusty Baker expected to announce his retirement on Thursday.
Hiring a replacement for Buck Showalter, who announced his own firing before the last game of the season, has been at the top of Stearns’ to-do list since he took over the Mets Oct. 2.
In noting during his Oct. 4 news conference that he wants to hire a manager with whom he can grow, Stearns did not say that needs to be somebody who is new to him or new to the job.
“People, even experienced people, have growth remaining, and so I don't think having been a major-league manager is a disqualifier in this,” Stearns said.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
