Brewers: Craig Counsell Signs Contract Extension Through 2023

The Milwaukee Brewers have locked up a key member of their squad for the next few seasons, manager Craig Counsell.

Despite the arguments of some on Twitter, Craig Counsell is a very good big league manager. He was the runner up for Manager of the Year each of the past two seasons. The Milwaukee Brewers have recognized his work and rewarded him with a contract extension.

Counsell has led the Brewers to back-to-back postseason appearances, the first time they’ve done so since 1981-82.

Robert Murray, formerly of The Athletic, was the first to report the contract extension.

Financial terms of this deal are not known and likely will never be disclosed. The Brewers keep the salaries of their staff and executives close to the vest, since releasing that information serves no practical purpose for them.

Craig Counsell As Manager

Counsell first took control of the Brewers dugout back in 2015. Ron Roenicke had been fired after a collapse at the end of 2014 and a disastrous first month of the 2015 season. Counsell was working in the front office as a special assistant to GM Doug Melvin at the time, and simply moved to the dugout.

When Melvin took a step back later that season and the search for a new GM was underway, one of the conditions for GM candidates was to accept Counsell as the manager of the club. David Stearns could accept that and got the job. Since then, those two appear to have a great working relationship as Counsell has been extended twice now.

He originally had a three year deal in 2015, which took him through the 2017 season, then signed another three year extension to take him through 2020. He was entering the final year of that contract and would have been a lame duck without an extension.

Now Counsell is signed through 2023, which will make him the longest-tenured manager in Brewers history if he’s able to make it through that contract. Counsell is also currently the longest-tenured manager in the National League, and 5th longest tenured in baseball.

Since getting the job, Counsell has managed the Brewers to a 405-381 record, a winning percentage of .515, which is very strong considering he came in at the beginning of a rebuilding cycle.

The way he’s handled a lackluster pitching staff, managed his bullpen, and worked infield shifts has been nothing short of exceptional.

He’s led the Brewers to an NL Central crown, Game 7 of the NLCS, and back-to-back postseason berths. He hasn’t achieved the ultimate goal yet, but that time is coming, and he now has three more years at the very least, to prove he can get it done.

This is a great move by the Brewers. They have one of the best managers in the game, Milwaukee is his hometown, he’s a former Brewers player, and they’ve seen nothing but success underneath him.