MLB Rumors: Brewers' Craig Counsell to Interview for Guardians Job Amid Mets Buzz

Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell, whose contract expires at the end of October, will interview for the Cleveland Guardians' open managerial position, per Zack Meisel and Will Sammon of The Athletic.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post previously reported on the Guardians' interest in Counsell alongside four other candidates:

That list of candidates includes ex-MLB player and Mariners coach Stephen Vogt, who has already interviewed twice for the Cleveland managerial job.

The New York Mets, who are now led by ex-Brewers general manager David Stearns, also have interest in Counsell. The same goes for the Brewers, who would like to re-sign Counsell to a new deal.

Counsell, 53, played 16 MLB seasons (1995, 1997-2011) for the Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks and Brewers, winning two World Series and the 2001 NLCS MVP along the way.

Counsell joined the Brewers front office in 2012 and also became a part-time color commentator for the team's radio broadcasts in 2014.

Milwaukee hired Counsell as its manager in May 2015 after firing Ron Roenicke. In eight-plus seasons, Counsell has led the Brewers to five playoff appearances (including the 2018 NLCS) and three NL Central titles. His last seven teams have either made the playoffs or finished with a winning record.

The 2023 Brewers just went 92-70 and won the NL Central before falling to the eventual NL champion Arizona Diamondbacks in the Wild Card Series. For his career, Counsell has gone 707-625 (53.1 winning percentage).

Naturally, teams are interested in Counsell given his great success in Milwaukee, which made the playoffs just twice between 1983-2017 before its recent run.

Cleveland, which is looking to replace Terry Francona after he stepped down following 11 seasons, is one of them. The Guardians are looking to bounce back from a 76-86 season after making the playoffs five times from 2016-2022.

However, Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com reported that the Guardians are considered a "long shot" to land Counsell, per an MLB source. Pluto's guess is that Counsell ends up staying in Milwaukee.