It turns out that Buck Showalter with his 20-plus years of experience in the majors can still experience a sophomore slump — one so drastic that it’s called his standing with the New York Mets into question.
The 2023 season has provided a drastic and severe nosedive for the veteran skipper in his second year in Queens. After winning 101 games last season, which was the second-most in franchise history, Showalter’s Mets are on the outer-most edges of the playoff-picture periphery despite entering the year with World Series aspirations.
Owner Steve Cohen and general manager Billy Eppler already gave Showalter a vote of confidence that he’ll at least be given the rest of the season to stabilize things — though an 18.5-game deficit in the division and an 8.5-game Wild Card hole two weeks before the trade deadline doesn’t offer much time for that to happen with the team that is currently being trotted out. In fact, their odds of making the postseason as of Tuesday were at just 3.9%.
Assuming the Mets continue on this current trajectory of underachieving baseball, the obvious question of Showalter’s job security will only strengthen into the offseason if Cohen stays true to his word with the 67-year-old manager still having one year left on his contract.
Depending on how things shake up in the Mets’ front office, the next few months could be Showalter’s last with the organization. Cohen is still searching for a president of baseball operations — his No. 1 choice still appears to be former Milwaukee Brewers GM and president of baseball operations David Stearns.
Should Cohen finally get his version of the white whale, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that Stearns — currently serving as an advisor in the final year of his contract with Milwaukee — could bring manager Craig Counsell over to the Mets to take over as skipper.
Nightengale did, however, add that there is a more likely chance that Counsell, in the final year of his contract with the Brewers, “completely steps away, exhales and then decides if he ever wants to manage again, join a front office, enter the broadcast booth, or do something completely outside the world of baseball.”
Regardless of Counsell’s decision, there is the very logical possibility of a leadership shakeup — as is what happens when there is a noticeable front-office change — should Stearns make his way to the Mets.
