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Craig Counsell

The Brewers’ Infield Picture

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Those following the Brewers at a distance may not have paid much attention to their tempered approach to the offseason. It’s easy to look at their winter and see a modest collection of stopgaps to stanch the roster bleed of departing vets like Yasmani Grandal and Mike Moustakas. Look a littler closer, however, and you’ll find President of Baseball Ops and GM David Stearns created a two-year window of flexible and affordable contracts to keep Craig Counsell’s squad in contention, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

With Christian Yelich and Josh Hader, the Brew Crew have some of the best high-end talent in the game, but they’ve done a nice job filling out the infield with one-and-one contracts for Brock Holt, Eric Sogard, Justin Smoak, and Jedd Gyorko. Along with trade acquisition Luis Urias, the Brewers found a grab bag of roster pieces to power their infield engine in a wide-open NL Central. Holdovers Keston Hiura and Orlando Arcia join the extensive group of infielders vying for playing time.

Though Arcia is still just 25-years-old and has notched some big performances for the Brewers in recent seasons, his grip on everyday at-bats is loosening. Urias’ injury has provided Arcia with a last-ditch opportunity to prove his mettle. He certainly brings attitude and flair to the diamond, but two seasons of a .228/.277/.333 line dims the outlook on Arcia’s offensive potential for sure. Still, of the newcomers in the clubhouse, only Urias really threatens Arcia’s everyday status at short.

Of all rostered Brewers not named Yelich, Hiura has the highest ceiling. Thus, the onus lies largely (if unfairly) on his shoulders to make up the offensive production left behind by Grandal and Moustakas (who put up a combined 7 oWAR last season per baseball-reference). He put up a robust .303/.368/.570 line in just 84 games as a 22-year-old after being called up last season (139 wRC+). His power numbers have fluctuated throughout his professional career, but the hit tool has consistently played, and the Brewers are counting on Hiura to do some damage from the middle of their order.

The final piece of the infield puzzle for Counsell is long-time face-of-the-franchise Ryan Braun. Braun could see a majority of his time at first base with Avisail Garcia and Ben Gamel lining up with Yelich and Lorenzo Cain in the outfield. The exact formula for the rest of the lineup has no shortage of variables, but Counsell has proven himself an adept engineer. Importantly for Milwaukee, if any of the newly-acquired pieces fail to meld, they’ve maintained the flexibility, financially and structurally, to pivot.

Brewers Extend Craig Counsell

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The Brewers have announced a new contract with manager Craig Counsell, as first reported by Robert Murray (Twitter link). It’s said to take the skipper through the 2023 season.

Counsell, 49, was already under contract through the 2020 campaign under the extension he reached in the fall of 2016. He was originally hired in the midst of the 2015 season, replacing the fired Ron Roenicke.

While he predates GM David Stearns, the two have seemingly worked together seamlessly in Milwaukee. Since a losing 2016 season, the organization has turned in three consecutive winners and two-straight postseason appearances.

The Brewers narrowly won the NL Central in 2018 and grabbed a Wild Card in the just-completed campaign. While the club has had some disappointment in the postseason — falling short in seven games against the Dodgers in the 2018 NLCS and then faltering late in the 2019 Wild Card game to the eventual World Series champion Nationals — that’s the fate of all but one team every season.

It’s inarguable that the Stearns-Counsell combination has been a successful one thus far. The latter has now been voted the runner-up in the National League Manager of the Year race in consecutive seasons.

Despite the good results, there’ll be loads of new faces in uniform when camp opens next month. The Brewers model under Stearns has been to swap out parts as needed to ensure cost-efficiency. But this winter has seen more turnover than before and left the club with a mix-and-match roster that’ll require rather active day-to-day management during the season. It’ll be Counsell’s job not only to meld the new pieces together in the clubhouse, but deploy them in the most advantageous manner in 2020.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL Central Injury Notes: Jeffress, Descalso, Strop, Martinez

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The National League’s Central division projects to be a closely fought contest, making it all the more important for each team to have all of its players available and in top form. Here are the latest notes on a few health situations from the division:

  • Brewers reliever Jeremy Jeffress is likely to open the year on the injured list, skipper Craig Counsell acknowledged to reporters including Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Twitter link). The veteran righty was slowed by some shoulder issues early and has not yet returned to working from the mound, though he is throwing. While the Brewers would no doubt prefer to have Jeffress available from the jump, there’s no sense rushing him and risking a lengthier absence.
  • The Cubs have a shoulder issue of their own, as infielder Daniel Descalso is dealing with soreness, per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). There’s no indication that it’s a serious malady, though neither is a timeline presently available. On the bright side, the initial indications are that reliever Pedro Strop’s injured hamstring won’t be a major concern. As ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers reports (Twitter links), Strop is quite confident that he’ll be able to return in time to get ready for the start of the season. Though he’ll be taking a break from his mound work, Strop was able to participate in practice today, indicating that the rest is primarily a precautionary matter.
  • The Cardinals now have a plan in place for right-hander Carlos Martinez, per MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch (Twitter link), to bring him through some shoulder weakness. Martinez will “build up arm strength” with a throwing program over the next two weeks. At that point — just on the cusp of the season — the team will decide how to complete his preparation for the season. It’s still possible, from the club’s perspective at least, that Martinez will be on a program designed to deliver him to the MLB pen. As of late last month, that was not a path he wanted to take.

Quick Hits: Counsell, Brantley, Britton, Yankees, O’s

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After being shut out in the first two games of the NLDS, the Braves not only posted a crooked number on the scoreboard in Game Three, but staved off elimination entirely with a 6-5 win over the Dodgers.  Ronald Acuna continued to make history, as the 20-year-old rookie sensation become the youngest player ever to hit a grand slam in postseason action.  Game Four is set for Monday in Atlanta at 3:30pm CT.

As we look forward to three playoff games tomorrow, here are some items from three teams still active in the postseason…

  • The Brewers made Craig Counsell’s continued employment as manager a requirement for any general manager candidate in 2015, owner Mark Attanasio told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  “We interviewed seven or eight candidates, and I told all of them that Craig was going to be the manager,” Attanasio said.  “So, that would have disqualified a candidate if they had a problem with that….That was a precondition to the job.”  Counsell has paid off his employer’s faith by leading the Brewers into the NLCS, and quickly impressing observers along the way — eventual new GM David Stearns, the Brewers’ roster, and fans in Counsell’s home state of Wisconsin.
  • Two shoulder surgeries and a right ankle injury limited Michael Brantley to just 101 total games in 2016 and 2017, limiting his productivity and sidelining him for all of the Indians’ run to Game Seven of the 2016 World Series.  That long recovery period has made this season all the more special for the outfielder, who rebounded to hit .309/.364/.468 and 17 homers over 631 plate appearances and 143 games while helping the Tribe reach the postseason.  “When you go through basically almost a two-year rehab, you don’t always know that you’re going to come back,” Brantley told MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian.  “Every day that I’m there to be with my teammates, that I’m healthy enough to be in that lineup, where I can joke around and know that I’m going out to left field to play with these guys, I’m very appreciative.  I don’t take it for granted.”  Monday, however, could mark Brantley’s last game in a Cleveland uniform if the Tribe is swept by the Astros, as Brantley will be a free agent at season’s end.
  • “There’s a gigantic difference in how we use analytics here compared to Baltimore,” Yankees reliever Zach Britton told Fangraphs’ David Laurila.  After coming to New York from the Orioles in a trade deadline swap, Britton was presented with lots of personally-focused data.  “I’d never been exposed to that amount of information,” Britton said.  “And it’s not just ’Here’s a stack of stuff to look over.’ …. I don’t want to get into specifics, but some of it is how my ball moves, both my sinker and my slider, compared to different hitters’ swings. It kind of opens your eyes to things you maybe didn’t think of when you didn’t have that information.”  The Orioles are known to be looking for a more analytically-minded figure in their new general manager, though the team has a long way to go to catch up to the Yankees, who are known to have one of baseball’s best information departments.  If Britton’s comments sound similar to Justin Verlander’s reaction to joining the Astros last season, it isn’t a surprise, as Britton noted that “If you look at the teams in the postseason, most are well-known for their analytics departments, especially the Astros.”

Brewers Announce Three-Year Extension For Craig Counsell

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11:55am: The Brewers announced that Counsell has been extended through the 2020 season

10:08am: The Brewers have scheduled a press conference with general manager David Stearns and manager Craig Counsell for noon CT today, and MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports that they’re expected to announce an extension for Counsell, whose current contract runs through the end of the 2017 season. An extension of yet-unreported length will spare Counsell the uncertainty of the “lame duck” tag and constant speculation about his job security in 2017 if the rebuilding Brewers get off to a poor start or finish the season with another losing record.

Craig Counsell

As McCalvy notes, Stearns offered heavy praise for Counsell at season’s end, praising the “positive culture” and “top to bottom” chemistry that Counsell has helped to develop throughout the organization. “There’s the in-game part of [managing],” said Stearns of his skipper, “which gets the most attention, because that’s the part that is what we all see, and what Craig has to answer about. An even bigger part of it is what goes on behind closed doors, when he’s managing the clubhouse, managing different personalities. This is a big family thrown together for eight months out of the year, and Craig and the coaches have the responsibility of keeping that family together. That’s not an easy job.”

Counsell took over as the Brewers’ manager in May 2015 when Milwuakee dismissed Ron Roenicke, signing a three-year deal that was set to run through next season. The Brewers are just 135-169 under his guidance, though Counsell can hardly be blamed for the team’s record in his nearly two full seasons of managing. The former big league infielder inherited an enormously flawed roster in 2015 and skippered a club that spent the bulk of the 2015-16 offseason tearing down its roster and rebuilding under a new general manager (Stearns).

Clearly, though, the organization feels that he’s excelled in his role within the clubhouse and while establishing a rapport with the front office. Having previously worked in a front office capacity himself, Counsell understands the importance of that component of the job and explained as much in a Q&A with Fangraphs’ David Laurila shortly before Stearns was hired in 2015:

“Understanding people’s perspectives… a great thing about working in the front office was that it gave me a different perspective. You see the game differently. When you’re in the forest every day, you always don’t see it. There is emotion in the dugout and in the clubhouse. You need to use emotion – you try to use it in a good way – but I understand why it can sometimes make decision-making difficult. That’s where the perspective of your front office can help you at times. That outlook is valuable, and as a manager you need to recognize it.”

Via McCalvy’s piece, the entire Brewers coaching staff was also invited back for the 2017 season, so the team’s younger players such as Orlando Arcia, Jonathan Villar, Keon Broxton, Zach Davies and Chase Anderson will have some continuity as they look to further work back toward contention in a stacked NL Central division.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Stearns, Counsell Break Down Brewers Heading Into 2017

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As was the case for many other teams who won’t be enjoying a postseason berth, Brewers GM David Stearns and manager Craig Counsell spoke with the media to break down the 2016 season and look ahead to the winter. MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweeted the pertinent comments.

Despite a dismal record (73-89), Milwaukee had many bright spots this year. That means the coming offseason likely won’t see quite as much turnover as occurred last winter, Stearns suggests and McCalvy tweets. There also won’t be any turnover in the coaching staff, with Counsell and all his field staff set to return, per another McCalvy tweet. An extension for Counsell, whose contract runs through next season, is also a possibility, writes Mike Bauman of MLB.com.

“Craig has gotten the most out of this team, and I feel very good about that,” Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said of Counsell, who took the helm in May 2015 after the firing of Ron Roenicke.

In addition to the coaching staff, Chris Carter will likely be back, the Brewers’ GM suggested (via a Haudricourt tweet). His 41 home runs make him a rather easy choice to return as the team’s primary first baseman, though they’ll also drive a big increase in his arbitration earnings. Carter earned a $2.5MM base salary, with $500K in incentives also triggered, after joining the Brewers via free agency. He is controllable in 2018 as well.

Infielder Jonathan Villar’s position is unsettled, says Counsell, but he’ll certainly have a place after an immensely promising campaign (Twitter links via Haudricourt). The 25-year-old put up a .285/.369/.457 slash and contributed 19 home runs with 62 stolen bases. He led the majors in that last mark, though he also led the league in being caught 18 times on the bases. Counsell explains that the team pushed players’ limits on the bases this year, as McCalvy tweets, calling it a “necessary” step in driving the organization forward.

Fellow 25-year-old Hernan Perez wasn’t nearly as productive overall, but he provides value through his versatility, Counsell adds. He swiped 34 bags of his own while batting .272/.302/.428 over 430 plate appearances on the year. With solid glovework, Perez was worth an even two wins above replacement by measure of Baseball-Reference.com, and won’t even be arb-eligible until 2018.

There are, of course, some places to improve as Milwaukee builds back toward contention. As I advocated in assessing the team’s three chief needs, dealing star outfielder Ryan Braun at a peak in his value may well be a way to drive the rebuild forward. Stearns was understandably noncommittal on the point. “We’ll see what happens,” he said with regard to Braun (via Haudricourt, on Twitter).

Brewers Notes: Stearns, Rebuild, Counsell, Braun

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Here’s the latest out of Milwaukee…

  • Khris Davis and Jean Segura could have been building blocks for the Brewers rather than enjoying big seasons for the A’s and Diamondbacks, though GM David Stearns tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he doesn’t regret dealing the two players last winter to pick up younger talent.  “There are going to be times when you trade a player and he has a good year, and that’s OK,” Stearns said.  “These are challenging decisions but we make them with a great deal of confidence.  If we continue to follow this approach, we believe we’re going to amass the critical amount of talent at the major-league level that’s going to allow us to compete consistently.”  Both Stearns and owner Mark Attanasio said are committed to continuing the team’s rebuilding plan, and are pleased with the Brewers’ progress in 2016.
  • Attanasio hinted that manager Craig Counsell will receive a contract extension this winter.  Counsell’s original three-year deal expires at the end of the 2017 season.  Counsell has a 131-162 record as Milwaukee’s skipper, though wins and losses on a rebuilding team aren’t necessarily as important as how Counsell has handled several challenges in his first full season as manager — keeping the Brewers prepared and competitive amidst a losing season, preparing younger players getting their first shot in the bigs and handling the trade rumors swirling around Jonathan Lucroy and Ryan Braun.  As it is somewhat unusual for a new GM to step into a job with a manager he didn’t originally hire, Attanasio said he has been impressed at how Counsell and Stearns have worked together.
  • Today was the Brewers’ last home game of the season, and it could potentially also be Braun’s last time wearing a Milwaukee uniform at Miller Park.  The slugger told reporters (including Haudricourt, via Twitter) that he didn’t think there was “a great chance” he would be traded this offseason, though there is a “higher chance” at a deal this winter than there has been in past years.  “On a day like today, it’s impossible not to think about it [a trade] at least a little bit. You try to stay focused,” Braun said.  Several teams were rumored to be interested in Braun around the trade deadline, and the Brewers and Dodgers seemingly came rather close on a potential deal that would’ve sent Braun to Los Angeles for a trade package including Yasiel Puig.  Braun will have quite a bit of control over his future, as his contract allows him to block trades to 23 teams every season.  The Dodgers were one of three teams (along with the Angels and Marlins) who weren’t included on his no-trade list in each of the last two years.

Central Notes: Stearns, Counsell, Indians, Machado

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Freshly appointed Brewers general manager David Stearns held court with the media at Petco Park today, and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel runs down a number of the topics addressed by Stearns. Perhaps most notably, Stearns characterized his first impressions of manager Craig Counsell as positive. Building a relationship with Counsell is one of the first things on Stearns’ to-do list as GM. “It’s an enormous relationship, and it needs to be a relationship that has mutual respect and mutual trust,” said Stearns of the manager-GM dynamic. “So far, we’ve gotten along very well. … Throughout the entire industry, Craig has a very positive reputation. It was also clear that he was held in high regard within the organization and up through ownership.”

A bit more from Stearns and the game’s Central divisions…

  • Also high on Stearns’ agenda is deciding on an assistant GM and an organizational structure, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets. Via Haudricourt, Stearns spoke about the characteristics he’d seek in an AGM. “Ultimately, you’re going to want one who complements your skill set and helps you run the front office from a variety of different aspects,” he explained. Stearns said he’s spoken to a number of baseball ops executives that pre-date him, presumably including Ash, but has yet to come to any firm personnel decisions. “I’ve had conversations with a number of them and I think a number of them will stay,” he added.
  • The Indians will have a number of roster decisions to make following the season, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Gavin Floyd, Ryan Raburn, Mike Aviles and Ryan Webb can all become free agents, and each has expressed an interest in remaining with Cleveland. Raburn could be retained via his $3.5MM club option, as the team will decide between that sum and a $1MM buyout. Hoynes also notes that Cleveland has as many as six, if not seven arbitration eligible players (depending on Jeff Manship’s Super Two eligibility). Closer Cody Allen, in particular, could be in line for a multi-year deal, per Hoynes, though that comment seemed to be speculative.
  • Though adding some additional positions to his repertoire would help Dixon Machado’s chances of making the Tigers’ roster in 2015, the team has no plans to play him anywhere but shortstop, manager Brad Ausmus told MLive.com’s James Schmehl. The Tigers view Machado as a pure shortstop, though that complicates his path to playing time in the Majors due to the presence of Jose Iglesias. Nonetheless, Ausmus was firm in his belief: “Just a shortstop, at this point. I don’t know that I’d put Machado in the (Andrew) Romine category. Although he played third base a couple of games in Toledo, I wouldn’t throw him into a utility role.” Machado, the Tigers’ No. 14 prospect, per MLB.com, hit .286/.375/.404 across two levels in 2014 but has struggled in both Triple-A and the Majors this year. Scouting reports on the 23-year-old rave about his glove but wonder if he’ll hit enough to be a regular in the Majors.

NL Central Notes: Counsell, Happ, Marshall, Wainwright

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If newly minted Brewers GM David Stearns elects to keep Craig Counsell in the manager’s role, the two appear to be a very good fit with one another on the surface, writes David Laurila of Fangraphs. Laurila spoke to Counsell recently about how his time working in the Brewers’ front office gave him an appreciation of analytics and how his years working with Doug Melvin have made him receptive to input from the front office. “Part of what working in the office did for me was provide a lot of exposure to the analytics side,” said Counsell. “That was valuable, because every day it plays a part in your decision-making. You’re challenged by what your eyes are telling you, you’re challenged by what the information is telling you, and you strike a balance. That’s managing. … [A] great thing about working in the front office was that it gave me a different perspective. You see the game differently. When you’re in the forest every day, you always don’t see it.” The entire interview is well worth a read, as Counsell offers an insightful, forward-thinking take on the evolving role of a manager and the incorporation of data and analytical information into his job.

A few more notes from the league’s toughest division…

  • In the final minutes leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline, J.A. Happ had heard nothing about a trade, writes MLB.com’s Jack Etkin, leading to a very surprised reaction from the lefty when he learned after the deadline had passed that he’d been dealt to the Pirates in a last-minute swap. Happ’s trade didn’t make too many headlines, but he’s been a vital component to the Pirates’ stretch drive, Etkin notes, pitching to a brilliant 2.28 ERA in nine starts with Pittsburgh. Happ appears to be yet another triumph for vaunted Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage, as his ERA, along with his 10.2 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 rates, rank as the best work of his career. Happ, however, is just happy to have the opportunity to contribute to a playoff push — a sensation he hasn’t had since 2008-09 with the Phillies. “You come in and kind of realize what this team’s doing and what they’re capable of,” Happ said. “It’s been a lot of fun. It feels good to contribute.”
  • Sean Marshall’s career has been dramatically altered by shoulder surgeries, but the 33-year-old Reds left-hander tells C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer that he still hopes to play beyond the 2015 season. Marshall, who thought the surgery he underwent in May (his second shoulder operation) could be career-ending, now hopes to pitch for the Reds before the season comes to a close. He’s dropped his arm angle about four to six inches, he estimates. “I want to keep playing,” Marshall tells Rosecrans. “I’m not ready to hang ’em up yet. I still feel great.”
  • Adam Wainwright threw 25 pitches to teammates yesterday, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. However, the injured Cardinals ace, who hopes to return for the postseason as a reliever, said he still feels “a hair off,” even though he considers his pitches to be “game-ready.” The next step for Wainwright is a simulated game without a screen (he threw from behind a screen Wednesday) so that he can field his position. Manager Mike Matheny wouldn’t offer any definitive take on whether or not Wainwright would pitch in the playoffs, stating that the decision would come down to what’s best for the team. He did, however, note that he’s a firm believer that, come the postseason, experience is an important factor.

NL Central Notes: Castro, Melvin, Counsell

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Starlin Castro has lost his starting shortstop job to Addison Russell and is now facing a move to (or even a platoon role at) second base, but Castro is positive about his new position.  “Whatever helps the team win.  We don’t think about (ourselves). We think about us as a team,” Castro told reporters, including CBS Chicago’s Bruce Levine.  “I just want to play.  I just want be in the lineup. It does not matter if it’s at second or shortstop.”  While there has been lots of speculation about Castro’s future with the Cubs, his agent Paul Kinzer said that “sometimes a change can help everyone.  When a team goes in a different direction, there are opportunities elsewhere. In that case, it doesn’t make anybody the bad guy. Starlin would hate to leave Chicago. The one thing he is adamant about is being a team player and not becoming a distraction to this very good team.”

Here’s more from around the NL Central…

  • Though he has experience in the Brewers front office, manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy) that he is “not a candidate” for the team’s vacant GM job.
  • Counsell’s job will likely remain safe no matter who takes over as Milwaukee’s GM, as owner Mark Attanasio made clear in yesterday’s comments to the media (including Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).  “We were very careful in making that manager choice. If somebody comes in and thinks they can come up with a better name, they would probably do that at their peril in the interview,” Attanasio said.
  • Outgoing Brewers general manager Doug Melvin ultimately lost his job due to three factors, Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron writes in a piece for FOXSports.com.  The team didn’t draft well, they both gave away too much talent to acquire Zack Greinke and then didn’t recoup enough when dealing him away, and Milwaukee wasted a lot of at-bats on sub-replacement players.
  • With the Cardinals raking in the revenue, Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggests a few ways the club can spend some of that money this offseason and in years to come.  Re-signing Jason Heyward is a good fit, as is picking one of John Lackey or Jaime Garcia for next year’s rotation, and planning extensions for young core pieces like Kolten Wong, Michael Wacha, Carlos Martinez and others.
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