When David Stearns left the position of head of baseball operations for the Brewers to become an advisor, one year before the end of his contract, everyone understood that he wanted to leave.
Rumors were sending him to New York…and it finally happened: the Mets gave him the moon to run the club’s baseball operations.
Since then, we have been wondering if Craig Counsell will follow him. After all, he was the only manager during Stearns’ reign in Milwaukee and they enjoy working together.
The fact that manager Counsell is at the end of his contract and refuses to sign another one was an indicator. That didn’t mean he was going to leave, but it opened the door to leaving.
The Brewers, ready to do anything to keep him, refused, in recent weeks, to see him interview elsewhere. Their mentality: he will be without a contract on November 1st and wait until then.
But now the plan has just changed. Milwaukee has given the OK to David Stearns to interview Counsell to become the club’s next manager.
Counsell was said to be open to going to New York. There, we have proof that yes, it is a challenge that suits him, clearly.
Remember that earlier this week, another team gave a rival the OK to talk to its manager. And it gave this…
The situation is different since the Padres had no obligation to let him talk to the Giants in the short term. And they clearly wanted to get him out of there.
But in Counsell’s case, the Mets only had to wait a week to talk to him.
If the Brewers accepted, it was undoubtedly knowing very well that their dog was dead in the file. If they had the chance, I don’t think they would have accepted their former employee’s request.
They say it’s not a formality to see him be named manager of the Mets. That said, Steve Cohen has confidence in Stearns… and we agree that the interview does not serve to create a link between Stearns and Counsell.
I don’t see him coming back to Milwaukee under such conditions, but who knows if he couldn’t go somewhere other than New York.
That’s not impossible.