10 Managers for Milwaukee Brewers to Consider if Craig Counsell Leaves

The Milwaukee Brewers are currently waiting for manager Craig Counsell to decide his future with the organization.

Counsell is a free agent now that his contract has expired.

A reunion with former general manager David Stearns has been rumored since Stearns took over the New York Mets.

Counsell will certainly have his choices of jobs and his asking price will not come cheap. He could also choose to step away from the game to watch spend time with his family and watch his sons play college baseball.

If Counsell decides to leave the organization, the Milwaukee Brewers should consider these candidates…

Gabe Kapler

Keep in mind, that this list is in no particular order.

Kapler has now been fired twice. He had two mediocre seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, but he did win 107 games in 2021 with the San Francisco Giants.

Brewers’ owner Mark Attanasio should be somewhat familiar with Kapler as Gabe played for the Brew Crew during that magical 2008 season.

He is in the running for the Boston Red Sox general manager position.

Steven Vogt

The Athletic had a write-up mentioning the former catcher will be a manager soon.

Vogt had a brief playing stint with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2017 so he has crossed paths with general manager Matt Arnold.

He is considered a top candidate for the Cleveland Guardians job.

Mark DeRosa

He did a good job managing Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. DeRosa is a bright baseball mind.

Don Mattingly

He just could never win the World Series when he was managing the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mattingly found it difficult to win with the Miami Marlins. That is a team that does not spend a ton of money much like the Brewers.

Rodney Linares

It can never hurt to hire someone from the Tampa Bay Rays. Linares is currently the bench coach. He did manage the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. The results may not have been great, but that does mean Linares is a bad candidate.

Ron Washington

He nearly led the Texas Rangers to a World Series title. Washington had some off-the-field troubles, but it appears he has put those issues behind him. He has been doing a great job as the Atlanta Braves’ third-base coach.

Walt Weiss

The Braves’ bench coach did have an unsuccessful tenure managing the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies’ roster was also poorly constructed that not even Craig Counsell would have done any better.

Joe Espada

He has been considered an up-and-coming managerial candidate in the past couple of hiring cycles. The Houston Astros bench coach might not make the move considering he could be in line to replace Dusty Baker whenever Baker decides to step down.

Pat Murphy

Arnold could choose to stay in-house and promote the team’s bench coach. Murphy had a successful college coaching career at Notre Dame and Arizona State.

Rick Sweet

He has been with the Milwaukee Brewers for nine seasons coaching the club’s Triple-A affiliate. The franchise is starting to bring up a new wave of prospects who have played for Sweet at Nashville. Promoting him to the big leagues might be a good idea. Plus, he has a sweet mustache.