Will the Milwaukee Brewers be better off without Craig Counsell?

The Milwaukee Brewers want manager Craig Counsell to return next season. They just hope he feels the same way.

Counsell will be free to sign with whomever pleases once the World Series ends as that is when he officially becomes a free agent.

The New York Mets and Cleveland Guardians have already been granted permission to speak with Counsell about their manager vacancies.

He has long been speculated as the clear front-runner for the Mets job now that his former boss, David Stearns, runs the club. Counsell going to Cleveland would be an interesting decision considering he would be leaving behind one small market team for another.

Going to the Mets makes sense since he worked so well with Stearns and would have an owner who hates budget restrictions. Counsell will certainly have the resources to get a roster that might be capable of finally getting over the hump and into the World Series.

If he went to Cleveland, he would be going from one franchise that has a tight self-imposed salary cap to another with the only difference being the Guardians play in the American League.

Well, he would never have to worry about the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals rising back up to bury his team in third place. The Guardians only have to worry about the Minnesota Twins when it comes to winning a division title.

Still, it would make more sense to stay in Milwaukee with a front office committed to having bites at the postseason apple than go to Cleveland where every so often they have to hit the reset button.

If Counsell does decide to move on, it might not be a franchise-crippling decision.

Last time I checked, the Milwaukee Brewers are still scheduled to play baseball in 2024. Maybe they need a new leader to get this franchise into the World Series.

Counsell is 1-9 in his last 10 playoff games. The road to the World Series in the National League continues to go through Milwaukee only it is the Brewers who end up watching the opposing club move on.

This is not all Counsell’s fault. You cannot blame him for Brandon Woodruff’s shoulder injury flaring up before the start of this postseason. You certainly cannot blame him for Evan Longoria turning back the clock in Game 1 and making two game-stealing defensive plays.

The luck needed to advance in the playoffs has just never been on the Brew Crew’s side. Nor has the money.

The lack of making a major move to go all in has deprived the Crew of getting to the World Series.

Counsell being a plus-manager is one of the reasons the Milwaukee Brewers are in the middle of one of their best baseball periods in team history. Every decision he makes tends to turn out right.

That is not to say he is not without fault. He made some questionable calls in the playoffs, i.e., having Jesse Winker pinch hit.

The Milwaukee Brewers would be losing one of the few managers who actually increases a team’s chances of winning.

Then again, the franchise will still exist if Counsell leaves. There is plenty of young talent to give the Brewers a chance to contend for the rest of the decade. The chances of contending might be a bit better with Counsell still leading the way in Milwaukee.