Jobs of Mets manager Buck Showalter, GM Billy Eppler are safe after early playoff exit, per report
The Mets under Showalter and Eppler enjoyed a highly successful regular season
By
Dayn Perry
•
1 min read
The New York Mets' 2022 season ended in highly disappointing fashion on Sunday night as they were ousted in the Wild Card Series by the San Diego Padres. But according to what sources tell Mike Puma of the New York Post, the early playoff exit won't result in the firings of manager Buck Showalter and general manager Billy Eppler:
Both Billy Eppler’s and Buck Showalter’s jobs are safe, according to a high-ranking Mets source.
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) October 10, 2022
The team may still look to hire a president of baseball ops, but that is considered a long-term initiative that doesn’t necessarily need to be implemented this offseason.
The Mets won 101 games during the regular season -- the first under the Showalter-Eppler tandem -- and finished tied with the reigning-champion Atlanta Braves in the National League East standings. They achieved that lofty win total despite significant injuries to core stars Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and Starling Marte.
As noted, though, the season ended in lacerating fashion for the Mets and their fans. First, they frittered away what in early June had been a 10 1/2-game lead in the NL East. They did so less because of their own collapse -- Mets went 43-26 in the second half and 18-13 after the calendar flipped to September -- and more because the Braves went on a 78-34 run of dominance that started around the time the Mets held that 10 1/2-game lead. Then came the loss to the Padres in opening-round, best-of-three Wild Card Series.
Owner Steve Cohen, however, seems inclined to take the longer view and not take what could regarded as a tempestuous over-response to the way the 2022 season ended for the Mets. That means, reportedly, Showalter and Eppler are safe heading into the offseason and then into 2023. If there's a statement to be made by Mets ownership about what happened this season, then it may be in their vigorous pursuit of one or premium free agents. That, however, remains to be seen.
