The Mets are down to three candidates for their managerial position. Buck Showalter, Joe Espada, and Matt Quatraro advanced to the second round of interviews from a field that included Brad Ausmus and Bob Geren as well.

Showalter appears to be the favorite for the job despite not working in baseball since he was let go by the Orioles in 2018.

Let’s look at the pros and cons of each one of these final candidates:

Buck Showalter

Pros:

Managerial Experience

There’s no one the Mets talked to with more experience managing a dugout than Showalter. He’s accumulated over 3,000 games at the head of the bench in 20 years to a career record of 1,551-1,517. He’s had managerial stints with four teams, the Yankees, Diamondbacks, Rangers, and Orioles, dating back to 1992.

Baseball Knowledge

There’s no stat to quantify the amount of knowledge a person has about the game of baseball. If there was, it’s likely Showalter would be near the top of the list. He’s received ringing endorsements from former players about his impact and leadership.

Cons:

Analytical approach

It’s unknown what Showalter has exactly learned after the last three seasons watching baseball from afar. Has Showalter adapted his old-school ways into the modern approach the Mets showed last season? New York was one of the most aggressive teams defensively, paying dividends throughout the season. Will Showalter let the growing Mets analytical staff do their jobs?

No matter what there’s still no analytics that says not to pitch Zack Britton in the 2016 Wild Card game.

Joe Espada

Pros:

Playoff Experience

Espada has been with the Astros since 2018 serving as their bench coach. He’s overseen and helped coach a team to the World Series multiple times across two separate managers. Believe it or not, Espada has coached in more playoff games the last two seasons (24) than Showalter has managed his entire career (23).

Analytical Mind

During his time with the Yankees, general manager Brian Cashman credited Espada for being instrumental in the team shifting philosophy and was quoted as saying he was “on the front line having to push it” after major pushback from Joe Girardi. In a New York Times profile from 2019, Espada was described as someone who is “the evolving role of the modern coach, balancing responsibilities as a conduit to the front office with the traditional task of developing players.”

Cons:

No Managerial Experience

What’s holding back Espada and a candidate like Quatraro from being up to Showalter is no managerial experience in the big leagues. Now they’ve both been with very forward-thinking organizations and helped to oversee the development and success of top teams they haven’t been in the driver’s seat.

The Mets likely don’t want to pay someone to learn on the job like Luis Rojas, who despite managing in the minors and Dominican Winter League, faced a steep learning curve in Queens.

Matt Quatraro

Pros:

Worked In Tampa

Who doesn’t want someone who’s worked for the Tampa Bay Rays today? Quatraro has been with the Rays organization as a coach since 2004 after originally being drafted there in 1996. He departed to be the assistant hitting coach of the Cleveland Guardians in 2014 but went back to the org as their third base coach in 2017 and bench coach in 2018. Six major league managers have ties to the Rays as either a player or coach.

Cons:

No Name

Just like Espada, Quatraro suffers from no major league managerial experience. He spent multiple years as a manager in the Rays minors but that isn’t what the Mets are looking for ideally. Hurting Quatraro even more so than Espada is being a no-name in the public eye. It’s something that shouldn’t matter but Steve Cohen cares about his public perception as much as anybody and a name like Showalter fits the mold much more than Quatraro does.