Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell is in the final months of an expiring contract. He already has indicated that extension talks have been tabled until the seasons end and a decision to step away or remain with the Brewers will be made then.
Since becoming manager in 2015 Craig Counsell has won the National League Central division twice and made the playoffs four times. He has done this despite constantly being doubted and operating under a budget. With his potential impending free agency one MLB writer supported him as a top manager in the league and a potential top priority for teams this off-season.
MLB writer Ken Rosenthal supports Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell as a top manager in the league.
In Rosenthal’s article (subscription required) he points out how Craig Counsell’s scrappy and opportunistic style has resulted in the Brewers generally outperforming preseason projections as well as Pythagorean win-loss records.
Two statistical comparisons help explain why the Milwaukee Brewers’ Craig Counsell is one of the best managers in the game, and potentially one of the biggest free agents this offseason. Yet those comparisons, too, offer an incomplete picture, failing to entirely capture how Counsell gets the most out of his teams with bottom-half and sometimes bottom-third Opening Day payrolls.
Counsell rarely has the best narrative. His teams just keep on winning. If the Brewers lose him, they will not be the same.