Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports the finalists for the Philadelphia Phillies managerial job are Dusty Baker, Joe Girardi, and Buck Showalter. Of the three, Girardi and Showalter are perceived to be the favorites to land the job.
If the Mets truly want Girardi, that means the team will have to act quickly as the Phillies are expected to make their decision next week.
On that front, in recent years, the Phillies interest has previously led the Mets to act quickly. In 2017, the Mets hired Mickey Callaway, who was highly coveted by the Phillies, after just one interview. This past offseason, the Mets admitted to including Jarred Kelenic in the trade with the Mariners to keep Edwin Diaz from going to Philadelphia.
While the Mets have acted quickly on Callaway and Diaz, we should not expect the same now with Girardi as Rich Mancuso of NY Sports Day reports that Girardi is not expected to be the Mets’ next manager.
With the Mets likely out on Girardi, that leaves Tim Bogar as the sole known managerial candidate the team has interviewed with any Major League experience. And Bogar’s experience is not that extensive as he only managed 22 games for the Texas Rangers at the end of the 2014 season.
As a result, it now appears the Mets are going to be set to replace Callaway with a manager with little to no Major League experience.
