Brewers OF talks if Craig Counsell would succeed with Mets

The New York Mets traded outfielder Mark Canha to the Milwaukee Brewers during a summer fire sale, and that gave Canha an opportunity to play under Brewers manager Craig Counsell through the remainder of Milwaukee's season. 

Canha spoke with MLB insider Andy Martino of SNY about why Counsell could succeed while calling New York home. 

"I don’t anticipate [New York] would be a problem for him," Canha said about Counsell. "The guy played for a lot of years. He is accustomed to performing under pressure, and I don’t see how that changes when you’re in New York. Milwaukee and New York are two very different places with two very different levels of pressure, undoubtedly. But I think a guy like Counsell would be great. He would be able to carry that relaxed vibe in. If he could carry that into New York, that would be very helpful." 

Current Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns previously held that role with the Brewers and, thus, knows all about how Counsell guided Milwaukee to five playoff trips over the past six years. Counsell reportedly would "welcome the challenge of coming to New York if he and the Mets proved to be a fit," and Stearns received permission to interview the 53-year-old before Counsell's contract expires this coming Tuesday. 

Jon Heyman of the New York Post raised eyebrows when he reported on Thursday evening that some inside MLB circles "wonder whether Counsell would leave the team of his youth and year-round residence for" the significant pay increase big-spending Mets owner Steve Cohen will likely offer. 

Meanwhile, Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder and former Met Tommy Pham noted ahead of the World Series that the Amazins were "more talented than" the Diamondbacks this season but didn't possess the right "drive." Canha suggested Counsell could fix that problem sooner rather than later. 

"You need a guy like Craig or a guy like [former Mets manager Buck Showalter] to be there to weather the storms and make it feel like — this is still baseball, the game we’re used to playing," Canha explained. "Buck did it very well, and I think Craig would do it just as well."

Canha may be right, but it remains unknown if everyone involved will feel Counsell and the Mets are ideal for each other this fall.