Craig Counsell arrives in Cleveland for interview with Guardians top brass for vacant hot seat, per MLB insider

The new Cleveland Guardians manager search is kicking off with Craig Counsell. The former Manager of the Year runner-up (in both 2018 and 2021) is going to kickstart the franchise's search for their suddenly vacant manager's spot after Terry Francona's exit. He is officially in Cleveland to meet with the brass now.

Per The Athletic reporter Zack Meisel, the Guardians have decided to speak to Craig Counsell to potentially lead them into the future. He reported on X, formerly known as Twitter:

"Craig Counsell is in Cleveland to meet with the Guardians about their managerial opening, league sources tell Will Sammon and me."

Counsell is currently the manager for the Milwaukee Brewers. They haven't achieved the ultimate success yet, but they are perennial contenders and usually win the NL Central under him.

He is widely considered one of the top managers in the sport, and the Guardians will be looking at him after Terry Francona walked away after about a decade in charge.

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Cleveland Guardians looking to Craig Counsell first

There are a lot of rumors and reports about where Craig Counsell might go. For the record, he is only under contract through this year, which means he could very well be somewhere else by Spring Training.

The manager is a good manager, but he has been ousted from the playoffs in three consecutive years. Sometimes, teams aren't satisfied with being contenders all the time if it doesn't yield a World Series.

He may return to the Brewers, but in the meantime, the Cleveland Guardians are looking into him. He has also been rumored for the vacant New York Mets job as well.

Any team that needs a manager will likely at least consider Counsell. He's a respected leader and has a fairly good track record. He's also somewhat of a proven commodity, and those things are hard to pass up in a potential new manager.

Craig Counsell will speak with the Guardians

Craig Counsell may be a free agent soon. The Guardians are going to be the first team to interview him. If all goes well, that could be the only interview he's able to attend this offseason.