Pat Murphy is dancing all over Craig Counsell after ugly offseason defection

Sometimes, an organization can be better than the sum of its parts. No sentence describes the 2024 Milwaukee Brewers any better. After losing their manager to a division rival, voluntarily trading away their ace and then falling victim to the injury bug, the Brewers hold a six-game lead in the NL Central heading into deadline week.

Milwaukee, despite all that has gone wrong this season, will undoubtedly be buyers come next Tuesday. Starting pitching is of the utmost concern, especially with Brandon Woodruff and Wade Miley out long term, among others. Expect the Brewers to add mid-tier rotation talent without mortgaging their future. The Brewers also received some tough news on outfielder Christian Yelich, who is out indefinitely with a spine injury (you read that correctly).

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, and join the discord to get the inside scoop as we near the July 30 MLB trade deadline.

Brewers, Pat Murphy send Cubs and Craig Counsell on a downward spiral

The Brewers rise to prominence isn't just about the team itself, but who they are beating. Milwaukee's series against the Chicago Cubs should all but cement Counsell's squad as sellers. Jed Hoyer has more than acknowledged such.

“Where we are right now, I would have to say that moves only for 2024 – unless things change over the next week – we probably won’t do a lot of moves that only help us for this year,” Hoyer said earlier this week.

While Hoyer's comments weren't received well by everyone in the Cubs clubhouse, the players are the reason Chicago is in this position, along with Counsell. The Cubs believed signing Counsell to the richest contract in managerial history served as their big ticket free-agent move. Instead, Chicago followed a hot April start with a miserable May-to-early July.

Pat Murphy is the real winner of Craig Counsell's defection to Cubs

At 65 years old, Murphy's best MLB chapter may be his final one. As Counsell's former bench coach, Murphy became one of the most beloved assistants in baseball. The two men remain great friends. Now, the tables have turned, with Murphy teaching the young Brewers how to win while the Cubs struggle mightily in Counsell's first season.

“Murph is trying to navigate the teaching with the winning,” Yelich said. “But also it’s three months into the regular season, and this is Major League Baseball. We’re trying to develop, but we’re also trying to win. Some of that stuff needs to be cleaned up.”

It's far too early to wonder if Counsell made the wrong decision. He took the Cubs money, and in doing so committed to an organization who will spend more capital to fit Counsell's vision of the team, rather than just their own.

For now, though, there is only one clear winner of Counsell's offseason defection, and that is Murphy.