Mets reportedly granted permission to interview Brewers manager Craig Counsell
The New York Mets will be interviewing Craig Counsell for their open manager position, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
Counsell, who has managed the Milwaukee Brewers since 2015, will see his contract with the team expire Tuesday. The Mets were initially going to have to wait to speak with Counsell, but the Brewers granted permission to allow him to interview.
Counsell has led the Brewers to a 707-625 record over nine seasons, winning three NL Central division titles and making five playoff appearances.
In 2023, the Brewers won the NL Central for the second time in three seasons with a 92-70 record, but they were swept in the NL wild-card round by the eventual National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks. Since reaching the NLCS in 2018, Milwaukee has a 1-8 playoff record.
After finishing a disappointing 75-87 and in fourth in the NL East, the Mets fired Buck Showalter after two seasons in charge. His replacement would become the franchise's fifth manager since 2017.
The Mets' speaking to Counsell comes a month after they hired former Brewers president David Stearns as president of baseball operations. Counsell and the Mets have been rumored together since Stearns' hiring, but there have been reports that Counsell could take time off, and there's a possibility that the Brewers might look to bring him back.
“Craig and I spoke right around Labor Day, and we decided we had a chance to do something special this year, and we were going to just focus on that and pick up the conversation once the season was over,” Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio said before the playoffs. “I think that conversation will be open-ended, and we’ll see how he wants to handle it. I think he has earned that right.
“Clearly, we want him back, and we’ll see what he wants to do.”
