However it was officially framed, as a resignation in lieu of being fired, Buck Showalter will not be back as manager of the New York Mets in 2024. Such is life when the front office is being overturned, with David Stearns coming in as president of baseball operations and Billy Eppler stepping down as general manager.
Shy of never managing in or winning a World Series, there may not be a more accomplished manager than Showalter. He is 19th on the all-time list with 1,727 wins. Over 22 total seasons as a manager, he has led four different teams to the postseason and he's a four-time Manager of the Year (1994, 2004, 2014, 2022). His role in building what would become the New York Yankees' dynasty in the 1990s should not be overlooked.
At 67 years old, Showalter could just call it a career after his exit from the Mets. But he's definitely a "baseball guy," and the issues the Mets had this year were not necessarily his fault.
Buck Showalter is eyeing his next managing gig right after Mets' exit
According to Mike Puma of the New York Post, Showalter has his eyes on his next managerial gig.
Buck Showalter is interested in the Angels’ managerial opening, according to a source, and trying hard to get an interview. The job isn’t deemed attractive within the industry because GM Perry Minasian is entering the final year of his contract. But Showalter wants to manage.
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) October 5, 2023
The Los Angeles Angels let Phil Nevin go as their manager right after the another disappointing season ended. With Shohei Ohtani headed for free agency, Mike Trout in decline and the faint subject of trade rumors, the Angels have an uncertain future and the pipeline of young talent is not exactly robust.
It's unclear, at best, if the Angels are interested in Showalter as they begin their managerial search.
In some ways, many ways truly, the Mets and the Angels are similar-and not in a good way. The Angels don't quite have the hefty projected 2024 payroll the Mets have, but big contracts for Trout (barring a trade) and Anthony Rendon are not ideal. The Angels, as Puma noted, have a general manager (Perry Minasian) who's entering the final year of his contract and feels unlikely to get an extension. The likelihood the man who makes the hire being gone one year in is obviously not great for a new manager's job security.
If Showalter wants to keep managing, he probably can and he may find an opportunity for next year. But why does the Angels' opening, apparently, appeal to him so much that he's "trying hard" to get an interview? An upgrade in weather can't be enough.