Houston Astros Miss Out on Coveted Manager After Shocking Cubs Hire

The Houston Astros are looking for a new manager, and they reportedly have their eyes on one of the most coveted managers on the market. They missed out after a shocking move by the Chicago Cubs.
After the 2023 season, the Houston Astrosand#039; manager Dusty Baker officially announced his retirement after a year of speculation that he might make the decision.
General manager Dana Brown is now tasked with finding a new manager for this accomplished roster, which is still in their World Series winning window.
Coveted manager Craig Counsell was rumored to be a target for the Astros after he became a free agent. Milwaukee Brewersand#039; the former skipper was the hottest name on the market and was interviewed by a couple of teams.
Houston has now lost the chance to make Counsell their next manager after the Chicago Cubs made the shocking move of hiring him to lead their team.
The speculation that the Astros’ interest in the winningest manager in Brewers history was genuine seems to have been somewhat exaggerated because they never interviewed him.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic also reports that the Cubs have made Counsell the highest-paid manager in MLB history.
It is unlikely that Houston would be willing to meet those conditions and would instead turn to other candidates they were looking at. Counsell probably would have been a slam dunk for the Astros, taking over a playoff successful roster. Head is similar to Baker because he was an MLB player before becoming a manager.
Whether or not they bring in from outside the organization remains to be seen from the Houston Browns as a likely option, but the list of candidates has now dwindled as three executives were hired on Monday.