MLB Roundup 12/20: Mets hire Buck Showalter

New York Mets hire Buck Showalter as manager

The world of baseball news has been a graveyard for the better part of the winter, what with the lockout and transaction freeze in place, but the one thing that can still take place right now is coaching staff decisions. There aren’t a whole lot of managerial openings around the league, and we cut that down by one over the weekend with the Mets filling the hole that has been vacant thus far this winter. The team announced on Saturday that they were hiring Buck Showalter to manage their club in 2022.

Showalter takes over an organization that has been among the most erratic in the game over the last couple of decades. Steve Cohen is now in charge, taking over for the Wilpons, but things still got Mets-y at times last year. That being said, there is a lot to like on this roster and it makes sense to go after an experienced manager like Showalter to try and take this roster to the next level. Led by Jacob deGrom and the recently signed Max Scherzer, they’re certainly set at the top of the rotation. Now they just need to find someone who can figure out how to finish out enough of those games. Showalter is far from perfect, but he’s had success pretty much wherever he’s landed, at least in terms of winning regular season games.

Why Red Sox fans should care: Honestly, there isn’t a whole lot of direct Red Sox impact here, especially as Will Venable was never a candidate for this job with the Mets, as mentioned, clearly looking for experience. That said, Boston fans obviously have plenty of experience with Showalter, who spent time leading both the Yankees and the Orioles.