New York Mets: 3 potential Buck Showalter replacements as manager

Mets potential manager candidate: Mike Shildt

When Mike Shildt was let go by the St. Louis Cardinals, it was a surprise around MLB. The 54-year-old had success with the Redbirds, posting a .559 winning percentage in four seasons and three of those seasons ended with playoff appearances.

His teams never finished below third place in the National League Central and twice won 90-plus games. He went 30-28 in the COVID shortened 2020 season, which was good enough for a second-place finish and a Wild Card berth against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was named 2019 Manager of the Year leading the Cardinals to a 91-71 season and first-place finish.

St. Louis is not an easy city to manage in. There is a lot of pressure on the manager as there is in New York, so the bright lights would not be too big for Shildt. He has plenty of experience in the National League, he has managed teams with high expectations and thrived. Sliding into the spotlight with the Mets would not be an issue.

There is no doubt that change is going to come with the Mets and Cohen has to have had a change of heart since his comments two weeks ago. Showalter has been around the game long enough to know that this comes with the territory, not meeting expectations comes with its repercussions. Usually, it’s not the players that take the fall, it’s the manager. I’m not calling for Showalter to lose his job, however, decisions have to be made and the Mets are an underachieving team that could use a change.