The New York Mets' managerial search appears to be in the home stretch. A handful of names have been whittled down a trio of three men.
Joel Sherman and Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reported that Buck Showalter and Joe Espada are two of the Mets' finalists for the opening. Jon Heyman of MLB Network added that Matt Quatraro is the third.
Showalter makes the most sense for a team like the Mets — filled with veteran players and looking to compete for a playoff spot. He has experience managing four different teams and is the candidate of choice for Max Scherzer, New York's big-time free agent signing. The 65-year-old has won three Manager of the Year Awards.
Espada, currently the bench coach of the Houston Astros, interviewed with the Oakland Athletics' for their vacant manager spot. He has no experience as a Major League Baseball manager but has years of coaching experience at the major and minor leagues and has a history with Mets general manager Billy Eppler, as they worked together in the front office of the New York Yankees.
Matt Quatraro has spent four years with the Tampa Bay Rays as a third base and bench coach. He has experience as a manager at the minor league level and spent time as the Cleveland Guardians' hitting coach.
Whoever lands the job will be tasked with finding New York's full potential and leading them back to the postseason. They showed glimpses of it last year, only to surrender their place atop the National League East and finish third in the division. With Scherzer and other new additions, the retooled Mets should be able to compete in one of the weakest divisions in the majors.