Following the 2023 season, Houston Astros' manager Dusty Baker officially announced his retirement after there was speculation during the entire year that he might make that decision.
General manager Dana Brown is now tasked with finding a new manager for this ready-made roster who is still in their World Series winning window.
It seems like Brown already knows who he wants to take over the role, but doesn't want to rush the decision.
There were rumors that highly coveted manager Craig Counsell was a target of the Astros after he became a free agent. The Milwaukee Brewers' ex-skipper was the hottest name on the market and interviewed with a couple teams.
Houston has now missed out on the opportunity to make Counsell their next manager after the Chicago Cubs made a shocking move and hired him to lead their team.
How real the speculation was that the Astros were interested in the winningest manager in Brewers history seems to be a little overblown since they never interviewed him.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic also reports that the Cubs have made Counsell the highest-paid skipper in MLB history.
It's unlikely that Houston would have been willing to meet those terms and instead will pivot to other candidates that they have been eyeing.
Counsell likely would have been a slam dunk for the Astros, taking over a roster who has proven playoff success. He's similar to Baker in that he was a player in the MLB before becoming a manager.
Whether Houston goes with the likely choice that Brown has suggested or if they bring in another person from outside the organization will be seen, but the candidate pool has now shrunk after three manager hires were made on Monday.
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