MLB roundtable: Who should the Mets hire as their next manager?

New York's managerial search is reportedly down to three finalists

The Atlanta Braves are World Series champions and now baseball is in the middle of its first work stoppage since the 1994-95 strike. MLB and the MLBPA's were unable to agree to a new collective bargaining agreement prior to the Dec. 2 deadline, so the owners locked out the player, and the hot stove has been put on hold for the foreseeable future.

Throughout the offseason the CBS Sports MLB scribes will bring you a weekly roundtable breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last week we discussed which pre-lockout signings surprised us the most. This week we're going to tackle the Mets' three managerial finalists: Joe Espada, Mike Quatraro and Buck Showalter.

Who should the Mets hire as their next manager?

R.J. Anderson: I don't have a strong opinion here. It's hard for us outsiders to evaluate any of these candidates in a meaningful way -- especially given two of them haven't managed a game before. I'd like to see Espada get a shot since he's been in contention for what feels like a handful of jobs over the past few seasons without landing any of those gigs. He's due, basically. Will he be good? Maybe, but I can't guarantee it; I certainly doubt he's the reason why the Mets win (or don't win) this year.

Dayn Perry: I think Espada deserves a chance given how many times he's been a serious candidate for a managerial job, but given the Mets' upheavals since Steve Cohen bought the team I think they need to go with the safe known quantity. That's Buck Showalter. He's notched winning seasons with five different franchises, and he's guided four of them to division titles. He also managed as recently as 2018, so this isn't like plucking Tony La Russa out of antiquity as the White Sox did. I think the safe choice is the right choice in this instance. 

Mike Axisa: I don't think you can go wrong with Showalter, a seen-it-all instant respect type who would give the Mets a much needed adult in the room. That said, I think Espada has the tools to be the next great manager, and I'd go with him. He has experience in player development (with the Marlins), he's held several big league coaching positions (including bench coach under AJ Hinch and Dusty Baker with the Astros), he has front office experience (with the Yankees), and he's been praised for his communication skills (he's also bilingual, which is a plus). Espada checks an awful lot of boxes and the Mets may never have another opportunity to hire him, so do it now. With rookie managers, you never know what you're going to get until you see him on the job, so it's risky. Espada is as qualified as rookie managers get though, and I would want to get on the ground floor of the next great skipper if I were the Mets.

Matt Snyder: Adam Jones once told me that what made Buck Showalter great is that "he makes you play like you got a pair," and, well, that's good enough for me with this Mets team. It's been used as a punchline in the past that Showalter was fired from the Yankees and Diamondbacks jobs one year before each team won the World Series (and the Rangers won two straight AL pennants just a few years after his departure), but I'd argue that if it's not a coincidence, it's more Showalter getting those teams ready for championships than him needing to be fired before they could win. He's excellent at building championship-caliber teams, the big one just hasn't happened for him ... yet? If he does get the Mets job and get over that final hump, the masses will finally join in with all of Showalter's former players in knowing just how great he is.