Craig Counsell to Cleveland is reportedly a long shot

It may be best for fans of the Guardians not to get too excited about the prospect of Craig Counsell succeeding Terry Francona as Cleveland's manager.

Even though the Guardians have received permission from the Milwaukee Brewers to interview Counsell, it appears that their chances of hiring him are not great. The proposition of Counsell coming to Cleveland was recently tackled by Cleveland.com's Terry Pluto, and the odds do not appear to be in the Guardians' favor.

"Counsell is from Wisconsin and Milwaukee is home to him. The Brewers want him back, but he hasn’t signed an extension. Cleveland being in the Midwest with a smart front office competing in the Central Division should be attractive to him. That said, I was told by a top MLB source Counsell was “a long shot” to go to Cleveland. He’ll probably end up staying in Milwaukee."

- Terry Pluto on Craig Counsell

The outlook does not look great when digesting this information. Even though Pluto does note the possibility of Counsell remaining with the Brewers, this is a result that seems to have some level of doubt attached, considering the Brewers' have granted permission to the Guardians and Mets to interview him before his contract expires.

There is one more thing to take note of. Counsell is meeting with the Guardians on Monday, according to a report from The Athletic's Zack Meisel. This does point toward Cleveland having some sort of chance with Counsell. However, this could be some due diligence on Counsell's part in order to properly evaluate any and all open manager positions.

Is there a possibility that Counsell will become Cleveland's next manager? Sure. But betting on the field versus Counsell being Francona's successor in Cleveland seems to be a much better idea at the moment. Things could change in their favor, but it just does not seem to be likely right now.