MLB insider reveals why Craig Counsell bluffed the Mets to land $40,000,000 Cubs gig: "He would've rather sat out a year"

Seemingly overnight, Craig Counsell became one of the biggest names of the 2023 MLB offseason. It now appears that the 53-year old manager may have pulled off one of the biggest bluffs in baseball history.

In October, news broke that the Milwaukee Brewers manager was interviewing with the New York Mets. As baseball's richest team, the Mets were looking for a replacement for 2023 captain Buck Showalter and would be willing to pay handsomely.

For a while, it appeared as though Craig Counsell was going to the Mets. A three-time NL Central title winner in nine seasons in Milwaukee, the former player also held the Brewers' managerial franchise win record.

However, the baseball world let out a collective gasp of surprise on Nov. 6 when the Chicago Cubs announced that they would be penning Craig Counsell to a five-year, $40 million deal that would see him earn more money than any other manager in 2024.

In a recent piece for USA Today, MLB analyst Bob Nightengale, present at the GM Meetings in Arizona, shed some more light on Counsell's decision. In his article, Nightengale outlined that a move to the New York Mets was never going to happen.

Apart from being manager of the Brewers since 2015, Counsell has deep ties to the Milwaukee area. He grew up in the northern suburb of Whitefish Bay while his father worked for the team.

Moreover, two of his children are yet to graduate high school in Milwaukee, making a cross-country move all the more trying.

By moving to Chicago, Nightengale holds that Counsell can reap the best of both worlds. Only 90 minutes away from his current home, the former MLB infielder can keep all the familiarities of home while still managing one of baseball's most esteemed teams.

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Craig Counsell move will make NL Central even more interesting in 2024

After the move to the Cubs was announced, a park bearing Counsell's name in Whitefish Bay was vandalized.

While the act was cowardly and small, it shows the passion Milwaukee Brewers fans have for their team. Now, with the winningest manager in franchise history coaching for a bitter divisional foe, expect to see even more fireworks than usual in 2024.