An Important Piece of Information Regarding the Future of Milwaukee Brewers' Manager Craig Counsell
The Milwaukee Brewers saw their season end this week with a two-game sweep in the National League wild card round.
Despite winning the National League Central, the Brewers bowed out to the Arizona Diamondbacks in those two games.
The Brewers now enter an offseason full of questions, starting with manager Craig Counsell. His contract expires at the end of the year and he's been connected to other managerial openings, including the New York Mets, who just hired former Brewers executive David Stearns to run their baseball operations.
Good news for Brewers' fans hoping to retain Counsell might be this piece of news that was reported in the New York Post:
Though the Brewers’ season ended with a loss in the wild-card round to the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, their manager’s contract does not expire until Oct. 31, sources said.
There has been some confusion about what is allowed for a manager whose season is over but whose contract is still active, and the parties appear to be acting as if the Mets — or any other interested team — would require permission from the Brewers to talk early with Counsell.
This gives the Brewers at least three more weeks to exclusively negotiate with Counsell, and the organization can deny other team's the ability to speak with him. Will teams who are hiring (Mets, Angels, Guardians and Giants) be willing wait until the Oct. 31 period passes by? Or do they want to have their manager in place by the time the full offseason calendar begins?
Counsell has managed the Brewers since 2015 and has been to the playoffs five times.
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