MLB rumors: Did the Buck Showalter move open the door for Craig Counsell with the New York Mets?

With the New York Mets announcing that Buck Showalter will not return as manager in 2024, it makes sense that the MLB rumors mill has started churning about current Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell making his way to Queens to take over in the dugout.

MLB rumors: Craig Counsell destined to take over in the dugout for New York Mets?

One of the biggest reasons for the Counsell-to-New-York rumors to begin circulating is the Mets’ hiring of David Stearns to serve as the team’s new president of baseball operations, a move that is expected to formally announced on Monday. Stearns and Counsell worked magic in Milwaukee when both were part of the Brewers family, reaching the postseason five times. With New York Mets owner Steve Cohen clearly willing to spend whatever it takes for his team to be in a position to win, will the checkbook come out to pair Stearns and Counsell together again?

The timing of Showalter’s departure, with a year left on his contract, is a clear message that the Mets are ready for a change of direction with the franchise. This season, the Mets waved the white flag at the MLB trade deadline, parting ways with high-priced pitchers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, among others, in an effort to start a rebuild that will eventually get the Mets back to the Fall Classic.

Parting ways with Showalter one year after the Mets won more than 100 games and he earned NL Manager of the Year honors is arguably a bigger statement than the San Francisco Giants relieving Gabe Kapler of his duties three games before the end of the season. While both teams were expected to be in the mix for the MLB playoffs this season, New York’s meteoric fall was more in the spotlight. Everything is brighter under the New York lights, including the pressure for the Mets’ next manager to get them deep in the postseason.

With Counsell’s future in Milwaukee uncertain as his contract runs out, expect there to be plenty of signs pointing to a Counsell-Stearns reunion in Queens.