New York Mets Have to Wait to Talk to This Managerial Candidate

The New York Mets will have to wait to talk to this managerial candidate.

They say good things come to those who wait.

The New York Mets are hoping this will be the case with managerial candidate Craig Counsell, whose contract doesn't expire until October 31, per The New York Post.

Although Counsell's Milwaukee Brewers were eliminated in the Wild Card round by the Arizona Diamondbacks, the assumption is that the Mets and other interested teams would require permission to speak with the skipper before his contract expires.

Counsell was the only manager that ever worked under president of baseball operations David Stearns during his time with Milwaukee.

But given recent history, Brewers owner Mark Anttanasio would likely deny the Mets permission to talk to Counsell, as he did with Stearns in 2021.

There is some risk that comes along with waiting for Counsell to become a free agent. The Mets could potentially miss out on other candidates.

Stearns said during his press conference on Monday that they are going to cast a wide net in their managerial search, and are open to managers with or without experience.

The Mets have changed managers four times since 2017, with Buck Showalter being the latest who only lasted two seasons, as the same was for his last two predecessors. 

Stearns wants to conduct a thorough search and interview several candidates before speaking with Counsell.

While Stearns and Counsell have familiarity working together from 2016-2022, Counsell will need to become familiar with the Mets organization.

It also might be difficult drawing Counsell away from Milwaukee, where he went to high school and played six seasons in the major leagues. His daughters also go to high school in the area and his sons play college baseball at Michigan and Minnesota.

The Brewers have made it clear that they want Counsell back.

The Mets are in the best position financially to pay Counsell, who made $3.5 million last season (Per The Post), the most money. Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy is the highest paid manager in the game at $5-6 million.

Stearns has never hired a manager and says they are not going to rush the process. They won't be able to rush with Counsell anyway.