One year after winning the National League Manager of the Year award, Buck Showalter is already feeling the heat from a stumbling start to the season by the New York Mets.
The New York Mets entered Sunday's game with the Toronto Blue Jays with a 30-29 mark and 4.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the race for the top of the National League East. It's certainly not a position the Mets expected to find themselves in, especially with roughly $345 million committed to the team (per Spotrac) in 2023 by owner Steve Cohen.
Cohen's offseason spending spree was a history-making one, with every intention that the dollars spent would result in a title brought back to Queens. So far this season, however, it's been a struggle.
While it's highly unlikely that the Mets would actually cut bait with Showalter, there are plenty of head-scratching moves in recent games that have Mets fans up in arms. With that in mind, let's look at three candidates who could be next in line should Cohen and company decide to go in a different direction.
Potential candidate to replace Buck Showalter with New York Mets: Joey Cora
If the Mets wanted to stay internal, they could look to their infield and third base coach, Joey Cora. There is no MLB managing experience there (except for a few interim coaching games with the Miami Marlins), but there are plenty of kudos from Showalter about the job the 58-year-old Cora does on the field.
"You never have to push Joey forward. He is engaged," Showalter said in this article. "I watch him sometimes in the dugout when [Francisco] Lindor or somebody jumps for a line drive. Joey jumps with them.
"[Joey] is the only guy I ever had that goes and practices coaching third base during [batting practice]. He takes so much pride in his work. The players are willing to do a lot of things for him because he is so driven."
Cora already knows the players and has MLB playing and coaching experience. It's possible he could slide into the managing role the same way that Rob Thomson did in Philadelphia last season.
Potential candidate to replace Buck Showalter with New York Mets: Eric Chavez
The 45-year-old Chavez has already had a promotion within the Mets, moving from hitting coach to bench coach this season. Could another step on the New York organizational ladder be a possibility?
Before the season began, Chavez discussed his new role and the opportunities it would present for him to impact the organization.
Chavez has been praised for what he has done to help boost the New York offense, and has a wealth of MLB playing and coaching experience to his credit. His six Gold Gloves and singular Silver Slugger Award speaks volumes to what he could do on the field and likely resonates within the Mets clubhouse. Relationships would be important if any kind of shakeup were to happen, and Chavez would likely make any managerial transition easier.
Potential candidate to replace Buck Showalter with New York Mets: Joe Espada
If the Mets wanted to go outside the organization, they could go with a proven winner and look to the Houston Astros and bench coach Joe Espada.
Espada was reportedly one of the finalists for the Mets position when Showalter was chosen back in December of 2021. He headed back to Houston and helped the Astros capture a World Series title last season, then was brought back with a new contract for the 2023 season when Dusty Baker decided to return as the team's manager in the hopes of earning back-to-back World Series wins.
There has been plenty of talk that Espada will be one of the top candidates to take over the Astros when Baker decides to retire, so luring him away from south Texas could be a tough task. However, there's little doubt that if there is a team that has the talent on paper and potential that the Astros do, it's the Mets.
Also, the 47-year-old Espada heading to Queens would be a reunion with starting pitcher Justin Verlander, adding a bit of a comfort to a new face coming into the clubhouse.
Espada checks all of the boxes on paper should the Mets decide to look outside their own walls for their next manager.