Report: Counsell will give Brewers chance to match highest offer

Craig Counsell will apparently give the Milwaukee Brewers every chance to retain his services.

Counsell - who is officially on the open market after his contract with Milwaukee expired on Wednesday - plans to give the Brewers an opportunity to match the top contract offer he receives from other interested teams, sources told Curt Hogg and Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

The 53-year-old is looking to reset the financial market for managers with his next salary. At minimum, he wants to double his 2023 salary of $3.5 million, Hogg and Rosiak report. He also won't give the Brewers a hometown discount.

A $7-million salary for Counsell would be $2 million more than what Terry Francona earned in his final season as Cleveland Guardians skipper.

Counsell has already interviewed with the New York Mets - who are now run by David Stearns, his former boss with the Brewers - and Cleveland. It's also possible that other teams with vacancies, including the Houston Astros, will reach out to him in the coming days.

The Mets and Guardians are likely to make formal job offers to Counsell by this weekend, according to Hogg and Rosiak, while the Brewers haven't given him a new offer yet. He's expected to make his decision by the end of next week's general manager meetings.

A Milwaukee area native who also played parts of six seasons for the Brewers, Counsell boasts 707 wins over nine seasons as manager - the most in franchise history. Although he's yet to win a pennant, he's led the team to five playoff berths - also the most in team history - and three division titles, including this year's NL Central crown.