Jonathan Lucroy was a rookie in 2010 when Craig Counsell was a 15th-year infielder and one of several “clubhouse dads” on the Brewers, as Lucroy called them.

They were veterans who would ensure the pregame work was done; that games were played correctly; that any discord was pacified.

He and Counsell did not talk about Counsell’s future, but Lucroy could tell what was coming.

Counsell was “very smart,” Lucroy said over the phone this week. “He was book smart. He was analytically smart. Strategically he was intelligent. He was always thinking ahead.”

Even as a player, Counsell’s mind appeared to work quicker than most. Five years later, when Counsell was a rookie manager and Lucroy his veteran catcher, Lucroy watched as a sharp clubhouse leader became an instantly respected franchise leader with the same brain.

“He’d always say: ‘Hey, in this situation here, if this happens, you’re going to do this.’ Or: ‘In this situation there, that guy gets on [base] there, he might run. Watch out. He likes to run second pitch.’ He’s always way ahead of everybody else.”

Such was the review from several players who have played alongside or under Counsell, now a nine-year Brewers manager with an expiring contract.

This week Milwaukee granted the Mets permission to talk with Counsell early, one more sign that new Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns might try to reunite with the only manager he knew when running the Brewers.

With teams that frequently have rated among the least expensive in the game, Counsell has continually won. Counsell’s Brewers have won at least 86 games in each of the past six 162-game seasons. They have qualified for the postseason in five of the past six years, going as far as the NLCS while Counsell has led several differently structured teams.

Sometimes his Brewers have relied on shutdown bullpens. Sometimes they have been buoyed by power. Sometimes the rotation has been dominant.

Just about always, Counsell has managed aggressively. Since Counsell took over in 2015, the Brewers have ranked third in MLB in pinch-hit plate appearances.

“He likes to put all players in the best possible position for them for their unique set of tools,” said Keon Broxton, an outfielder under Counsell from 2016-18. “He likes to use everyone on the bench, everyone in the bullpen. Whatever your skill set is, he’s going to use that, and he’s going to use it at the right time.”

Away from the field, though, Counsell has proven less hands-on. After a 16-year career as a major leaguer in which he saw that the best clubhouses were run internally by veteran leaders, Counsell has tried to mostly leave the clubhouse to the players.

He will pull a player aside if something needs to be said, but players remember few rousing sermons.

“He didn’t like speeches,” said Lucroy, a two-time Brewers All-Star who retired in 2022.

Counsell might not be demonstrative, but Lucroy and Broxton called him perceptive. Players generally appreciate when former players become managers because they understand the grind of the season.

A player like Broxton — who routinely would lay out for catchable balls in the outfield — had many small chats with Counsell after subtly painful innings or painful games.

“He understands our bodies,” said Broxton, who last played in the majors in 2019 and most recently played in the Mexican League. “You make a crazy dive and you get up — if he sees you’re not able to be yourself, he’s going to see that and come and ask you how you feel.”

Counsell has proven an adept manager but has not proven himself in a bigger market. The Mets and Steve Cohen’s deep pockets could offer Counsell a more ambitious organization, but they cannot offer him home. Counsell went to high school in Milwaukee and lives in Wisconsin with his family.

Would he really uproot his life and take on a unique challenge with the Mets, who are trying to figure out how to best turn Cohen’s money into sustained success?

“Absolutely,” guessed Lucroy. “If the opportunity was right for him and his family, obviously. I mean, it’s a big market, going from Milwaukee to New York is a big jump in terms of market size, attention.

“But he knows what it’s all about. As a player, you know very well what’s going to happen whenever you show up in a big market like that. … I think Couns’ honestly would welcome that challenge. I really do. I think he’d relish it.”

Broxton, who jumped from the Brewers to a short-lived Mets stint in 2019, laughed at the thought.

“It’s going to be an adjustment,” Broxton said. “He knows that. [If it happens] I’m sure he’s fully prepared to take on that mission.”