Will Brewers' Craig Counsell wait for Mets to hire him?

New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns received permission to interview Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell before Counsell's contract expires next Tuesday. 

How long Counsell will wait to receive a job offer from Stearns remains to be seen.

"Those who know Stearns believe he is not beholden to the traditional baseball clock," MLB insider Joel Sherman of the New York Post explained on Wednesday night. "...The competition is not speeding up Stearns, whose philosophy appears to be gathering as much intelligence as possible on potential candidates and then asking for permission on multiple candidates near simultaneously." 

Stearns previously served as Brewers president of baseball operations and, later, in an advisory role with the organization. Thus, he had a front-row seat as Counsell guided the club to the postseason five times over the past six years. Counsell was linked with the Mets even before they parted ways with Buck Showalter ahead of their regular-season finale, and it was reported earlier this week that the 53-year-old would "welcome the challenge of coming to New York." 

However, Will Sammon of The Athletic pointed out Wednesday that the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, Cleveland Guardians and Los Angeles Angels are among organizations that could challenge the Mets for Counsell's signature. 

"One league source said he wouldn’t be surprised if Counsell ended up re-signing with Milwaukee if owner Mark Attanssio makes a fair offer," Sammon added. "Counsell, who lives in Wisconsin even during the winter, is believed to have made $3.5M last season. Still, other league sources say that other teams may offer more, which would theoretically force Counsell, who was deeply involved in the Major League Baseball Players Association during his playing days, into a decision point."

It's difficult to imagine big-spending Mets owner Steve Cohen will lose a bidding war for any manager considering the money Cohen essentially wasted on what became the most disappointing squad of the 2023 season. With that said, an unnamed "top baseball executive" told Sherman that Stearns is "doing a ton of reference checking" and "talking to as many people as possible before initiating formal interviews." 

Sherman also suggested Stearns could marry himself to a first-time manager to "grow" with that skipper.

It's understandable Stearns would want to take his time to ensure he gets such an important decision right. He may, however, find that patience isn't a virtue in this scenario if Counsell wants to have his future sorted sooner rather than later.