I missed last week’s recap (the Mets got Scherzer, if you forgot), but the recap is back this week as the players still remain locked out of using MLB facilities by owners. The Mets still had plenty of action going on this week as the team looks for who will manage its players once they’re allowed back into dugouts and on the field.

Let’s look at what went on this last week.

Manager Search

The Mets have six candidates for their next manager:

They all interviewed between Monday and Thursday.

While we didn’t get updates about how every single person interviewed, there were reports that Showalter interviewed well. But that could all be based on expectations, given Showalter hasn’t managed in four years and there are reservations among the fan base (and others) about Showalter’s commitment to analytics. The Mets have an analytics department that is growing by the day. Those reservations haven’t extended to the likes of Espada, Quatraro and Geren given their experience in analytically advanced organizations.

If I had to guess, Buck Showalter, Joe Espada and Brad Ausmus will make it to the next round of interviews (more on that in a minute). That’s just based on popularity of candidates among fans and in baseball (Showalter) and seeming popularity among people in the organization (Espada with Francisco Lindor and Ausmus with Billy Eppler). We’ll see soon, though, who the Mets narrow it down to.

CBA Update

Well, not much here this week, though updates will probably be useful in these recaps when action happens on either side of the collective bargaining agreement negotiations. That assumes things actually happen, though, and there was bupkis this week. (A report came out that the two sides aren’t even talking at the moment.)

In the meantime, read Rich Sparago’s summaries over what exactly the players and owners are negotiating: Part 1 (salaries), Part 2 (arbitration) and Part 3 (competitive balance tax).

What’s Next?

The Mets should hold their next round of manager interviews this week, whittling the initial crop of six likely down to two or three. Billy Eppler has been conducting the interviews so far, and he’ll continue to do so moving into the next round. Owner Steve Cohen will reportedly be involved in the next round of interviews, too, though, so a candidate like Showalter or Espada will have to impress the owner.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Mets finalize a deal with a manager by the end of the week and announce one officially by the holidays, as there really isn’t too much else for the Mets to do at the moment thanks to CBA negotiations.