The Milwaukee Brewers, the New York Mets, and the Cleveland Guardians were seen as the favorite destinations for Craig Counsell to manage in 2024.
The Guardians announced Stephen Vogt on Monday, so they were out of the race.
While the vast majority of the baseball community saw the Brewers and Mets as the favorites, a dark-horse candidate appeared in the last minute and “stole” Counsell: the Chicago Cubs.
They hadn’t been discussed as a potential destination for Counsell because they already had a manager under contract, David Ross.
But it happened: in a shocking move, the Cubs are bringing in Counsell to be their next skipper.
According to reports, it all happened rather quickly and not in the smoothest of ways.
“The Cubs needed to ask the Brewers permission to speak to Counsell before Nov.1. They did not. So this ALL came together in the last few days. Its likely to be the most expensive managerial hire in MLB history,” Cubs insider Jesse Rogers tweeted.
The Cubs needed to ask the Brewers permission to speak to Counsell before Nov.1. They did not. So this ALL came together in the last few days. Its likely to be the most expensive managerial hire in MLB history.
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) November 6, 2023
Counsell was one of the most sought after names among managers, and it’s likely that all the teams involved in the sweepstakes (including the Guardians) were waiting on his decision before starting to consider other alternatives.
He has put together quite a resume with the Brewers, helping revive a dormant franchise and taking them to the playoffs five times since 2018.
The Cubs are already contenders, even though they missed the 2023 postseason.
They have quality players and one of the best farm systems in the game, so Counsell, who should be getting a nice payday too, will have resources to work with.
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