What comes next for Crew after Counsell's exit?

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MILWAUKEE -- “It’s been a lot,” Brewers general manager Matt Arnold said of this wild week in Brewers history.

It began Monday with the news that Craig Counsell was not only leaving Milwaukee, but in a twist that stunned even principal owner Mark Attanasio, he was leaving for the rival Cubs. There was Counsell’s emotional explanation on Tuesday. And there was Arnold’s reaction from the General Managers' Meetings on Wednesday.

Are we caught up?

Then let’s empty the notebook.

FIRST

Arnold didn’t give many clues about what qualities he’s prioritizing in the next Brewers manager, saying only he wants the “best human.” Unfortunately, new Guardians manager Stephen Vogt is taken.

Which brings up a question: Did the Counsell saga -- which Attanasio said “took longer than I thought it would when I said we’d let him explore” -- put the Brewers in a bad spot? They’re behind other clubs with managerial vacancies.

“I think that’s certainly one way to look at it,” Arnold said. “But honestly, we’ve had to look at this possibility for a while. So to that end, I don’t feel like we’re behind.”

Asked who was in the circle of Milwaukee officials tackling the manager question, Arnold cited a number of officials whose promotions were lost in Monday’s shuffle. They included former Phillies GM Matt Klentak, whose title was changed to executive advisor to the GM, along with Will Hudgins, Matt Kleine and Karl Mueller, all of whom had “assistant general manager” added to their titles. Also promoted within player development were former Brewers players Taylor Green, Carlos Villanueva and Rickie Weeks, though Weeks is believed to be a candidate for the job himself.

Obviously, Attanasio will also have a big say. One underappreciated reality of being a Major League manager is that you are effectively the team’s chief of public relations, meeting the media twice a day from February to October and answering for everything, big and small. It’s a consequential part of the job that doesn’t get much mention.

SECOND

On Monday, word was that all of the Brewers’ coaches had re-signed for 2024. Arnold subsequently clarified that should bench coach Pat Murphy not get the manager job, whoever does will get to choose his own bench coach, and Murphy would be offered another position. That’s a good thing. The job of Major League manager is so varied and time-consuming that he must have the consigliere of his choosing.

But it did raise another question: Might qualified candidates be turned off because they cannot choose their own coaching staff?

“No, we viewed it as a benefit,” Arnold said. “It starts and ends with people first, and as we saw the conversations with Craig continuing to go on, we tried to protect our staff. That was really important. We feel like having our entire staff back is a huge benefit to whoever is our next manager.”

Time will tell whether that was a clue about the type of candidates at the top of the Brewers’ list.

THIRD

The sign in front of a local bowling alley on Monday cried out, “Why, Craig, why?”

Counsell will get a chance to explain more on Monday at Wrigley Field. The shock and anger that reverberated throughout Wisconsin seems not directed at Counsell getting the richest contract in history for an MLB manager, but getting it from the Chicago (bleepin’) Cubs, of all teams.

He’ll surely be asked about the rivalry aspect of this again on Monday, but in our conversation, that particular part of it didn’t seem a major factor. Rivalries run deep for fans, but with a few exceptions, for most uniformed personnel they aren’t what they used to be.

“Look, I'm grateful for my time here,” Counsell said. “My connection to the people doesn't change in my eyes. I have developed beautiful, strong relationships that, if anything, have strengthened during an emotional time period, and those relationships will last forever. … The rest, you know, it's just kind of down the line.”

He added: “I don't have any hard feelings. They had to make a decision, and I had to make a decision. That's it.”

By the way, Arnold indicated that he has no concern about the timing of the Cubs’ pursuit. By rule, Chicago couldn’t contact Counsell or agent Barry Meister without seeking permission until Nov. 1. That left an incredibly short window for the sides to set terms on a record-setting contract, and for Counsell to confer with his family and make what he called an intensely difficult decision by Sunday.

It’s rather remarkable it happened so quickly.

As Arnold sees it, the Cubs acted ethically vis-à-vis the timeline.

“As far as I’m concerned, yes,” Arnold said.

HOME

Hopefully everyone has flushed the surprise from their system, because the offseason doesn’t stop.

The Brewers face the next big roster decisions in one week with the tender deadline. Brandon Woodruff, Milwaukee’s longest-tenured pitcher, will probably be one of the big names cut loose. Believe it or not, the Winter Meetings get underway a little more than two weeks after that.

If you’ve been following this space over the past six weeks, like here and here and here and especially here, then you know that the Brewers have been nearing a crossroads. Woodruff, Corbin Burnes and Willy Adames are among the stars going into their final year of club control. Devin Williams will be in the same spot at this time next year. It’s when teams -- especially teams like Milwaukee -- have to consider flipping talent for new, controllable talent. This is not a new concept.

Still, it made headlines Thursday when The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required) wrote that Milwaukee has indicated to other teams it is “open to moving virtually any player on its roster.”

That raised the specter of a full-blown rebuild, a word the Brewers don’t like to say. But when you look at the roster, it doesn’t look like a roster ready for a total tear-down. The group of homegrown pitchers who largely carried the team through the past six years of regular-season success is beginning to break apart, but a group of homegrown hitters at the top of MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 farm system has already started to arrive.

The Brewers’ philosophy is the same: The way to win the World Series is to win a spot in the postseason first. They have not said anything so far to brace fans for a step back from that.

“All I could get out of my head this offseason is we went down to Texas [in mid-August] and swept the Rangers, and they won the World Series. That’s what I focused on,” Attanasio said. “And then, by the way, that also extends with how we build a roster. Matt and I have talked a lot about that. Is there something about a playoff roster that’s different than a roster that gets you through the marathon of the season? What kind of roster do you need to get through a sprint? …

"Everyone can make their own assessment to how they feel, but hopefully they embrace our commitment, which is passionate and profound. And we plan on winning with the next manager.”