With baseball's lockout in full swing, the New York Mets have now shifted their focus to filling their vacant managerial position. The Mets, along with the Oakland A's, have been busy conducting interviews with their candidates and New York is aiming to have a hire finalized by this point next week. The list of candidates is impressive as the Mets have steered away from real risky picks like Mickey Callaway towards candidates who are highly experienced.
Don Kelly has withdrawn from the search for personal reasons while there is an unidentified mystery candidate as of post time, meaning there are six men in contention for the job right now. Let's break down the five known candidates in terms of likelihood to be the Mets' manager.
1. Buck Showalter
Current Role: MLB Analyst, MLB Network/YES Network
Previous Managerial Experience: New York Yankees (1992-1995), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998-2000), Texas Rangers (2003-2006), Baltimore Orioles (2010-2018)
Showalter certainly appears to be the early front-runner thanks to a strong endorsement from newly-acquired Max Scherzer and an impressive Zoom interview. In terms of experience, Showalter is the most qualified candidate on this list and helped build the foundation of World Series champions for the Yankees and Diamondbacks. Showalter also turned a mediocre Orioles' franchise into a regular playoff team in the early 2010s before ownership started ripping the team apart, leading to a 47-win finish in his final season with Baltimore.
The Mets also have to appreciate the fact that Showalter is well-equipped to handle the New York media from his days with the Yankees, no small consideration given the struggles of Callaway and Luis Rojas to manage the press. Showalter also interviewed for the Angels' managerial job in 2019 and was rumored to be the top choice of Billy Eppler, who is now the Mets' GM, before Angels' owner Arte Moreno overruled him to hire Joe Maddon. There are questions about whether or not Showalter has been out of the game for too long and his interest in being collaborative with the front office but until otherwise proven he appears to be the top choice.
2. Joe Espada
Current Role: Houston Astros' bench coach
Managerial Experience: None
A rising star in the coaching ranks, Espada has drawn tremendous acclaim as a potential future manager. Espada has served as the Astros' bench coach for the past four years after spending time with the Yankees on Joe Girardi's coaching staff from 2015-2017, the first year of which saw him overlap with Eppler during Eppler's tenure as assistant GM for the Yankees.
Several teams have interviewed Espada for their managerial vacancy in recent years, including the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays, who had him as a finalist before giving their job to Charlie Montoyo. Espada is also extremely well-versed in analytics from his work with the Astros, making him an ideal fit for today's game.
3. Brad Ausmus
Current Role: None
Managerial Experience: Detroit Tigers (2014-2017), Los Angeles Angels (2019)
A long-time big league catcher, Ausmus got his first managerial job in 2014 when he took over for Jim Leyland with the Detroit Tigers. Ausmus helped the Tigers win the AL Central in his first season before losing to the Orioles in the ALDS. Two losing seasons in the next three years saw Ausmus get let go and he spent a year out of baseball before being hired by Eppler to manage the Los Angeles Angels.
Ausmus' tenure in Anaheim lasted just one year before he was fired by Arte Moreno, who wanted to bring in Joe Maddon to serve as his replacement. The connection with Eppler is certainly worth mentioning but it's not clear if his track record as a manager will make him appealing here.
4. Bob Geren
Current Role: Los Angeles Dodgers' bench coach
Managerial Experience: Oakland A's (2007-2011)
Geren is familiar to Mets' fans from his years as Terry Collins' bench coach from 2012-2015. The Mets hired Geren after he was let go by the A's in 2011 and he played an integral role on Collins' staff, earning the respect of players throughout the clubhouse. Geren left the Mets to move back to the West Coast to serve as the Dodgers' bench coach under Dave Roberts, where he has helped Los Angeles win three pennants and a World Series title in 2020.
The Mets' connection will certainly help Geren, who knows what it's like to work in the New York market. It remains to be seen if Geren is truly interested in moving back east after spending the past six years on the west coast.
5. Matt Quatraro
Current Role: Tampa Bay Rays' bench coach
Managerial Experience: None
The newest name on this list is Quatraro, who has also interviewed for Oakland's managerial opening. Quatraro spent seven years in the minor leagues without reaching the majors and transitioned to coaching in 2004, when he started working in Tampa Bay's minor league system. That run included managerial runs with the Hudson Valley Renegades and Bowling Green Hot Rods before getting promoted to the position of minor league hitting coordinator by the Rays.
Cleveland hired Quatraro as its assistant hitting coach in 2013, where he worked until 2017 before returning to the Rays in 2017 as their third base coach. Quatraro was promoted to bench coach in 2018 after Montoyo left to manage the Blue Jays, becoming intimately involved with Tampa Bay's game planning and extensive use of analytics. That background alone is intriguing for the Mets but he is the clear fifth choice on this list due to his lack of experience as a big league manager or in the New York market. If Quatraro does get picked the Mets would likely look for a former manager to serve as his bench coach.