Insider shares if Brewers' Craig Counsell will consider Mets opening

Craig Counsell remains the manager of the Milwaukee Brewers at least until his contract expires on Oct. 31, but there's another sign he could consider making an offseason move to the New York Mets as soon as early next month. 

"Word is he would in fact welcome the challenge of coming to New York if he and the Mets proved to be a fit," MLB insider Andy Martino of SNY reported about Counsell on Monday night. 

Rumors began linking Counsell with the Mets as soon as it was confirmed that former Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns would be taking that job with the Amazins following the 2023 regular season. New York somewhat controversially decided to part ways with former skipper Buck Showalter ahead of the club's campaign finale, a choice that allegedly left some players displeased. 

It was recently reported the Mets are looking to hire somebody from outside the organization to replace Showalter and also learned that Texas Rangers associate manager Will Venable declined a request to interview with the National League East club. 

"Counsell’s father, John, was a longtime Brewers employee, and Counsell still lives with his family in Whitefish Bay, Wisc., where he graduated from high school," Martino explained. "...Two league sources familiar with the situation said on Monday that Counsell would indeed embrace New York."

Counsell has thus far accumulated a career 707-625 regular-season record with the Brewers and took Milwaukee to the playoffs each year from 2018 through 2021 and again in 2023. Meanwhile, this year's edition of the Mets was arguably MLB's most disappointing team and finished at 75-87. 

MLB insider Joel Sherman of the New York Post noted ahead of this past weekend that "it is far from a slam dunk that Stearns is just biding time and will ultimately hire" Counsell. 

On Monday, Martino insisted the Mets "plan to conduct a wide-ranging manager search" and won't "automatically anoint a particular candidate," even if that candidate is the proven 53-year-old who previously worked under Stearns.