Could the Mets hire Brad Ausmus as manager?

The New York Mets began their search for a new manager and will try to wrap it up fairly quickly. A lot of buzz and speculation surrounds 20-year veteran Buck Showalter as the best candidate to take over in Queens.

Not only has the media come out to show their support for Buck but the Mets newest pitching weapon has as well. According to Pat Ragazzo, Mets Beat Reporter for Sports Illustrated, Max Scherzer has given his endorsement to Showalter as well. Now I am sure that Max won't be calling the shots but his endorsement could go a long way.

With that said I’ve decided to take a different route and focus on another possible candidate. A candidate that has not been mentioned much even though he has received an interview. A candidate that also has very close ties to Billy Eppler, maybe more so than Showalter.

He may not be a popular choice but could Brad Ausmus be the next manager of the Mets?

Like I mentioned before the biggest positive Ausmus has going for him is his ties to Mets GM Billy Eppler. Back in 2019, while GM of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Eppler hired Ausmus to be their manager. 

That run didn’t last long. After a disappointing season where the Angels finished in 4th place with a  72-90 record, Ausmus was fired. There is a lot of speculation as to why he was fired and the fact that Arte Moreno has been known to meddle in the baseball operations side of things.

It seems like Ausmus got a raw deal out in Anaheim and I would give him the benefit of the doubt just like I did for Eppler when he became GM.

This is also not Ausmus’ first rodeo. He did come over from the Detroit Tigers with 4 years of experience managing there. Although it was a very mixed tenure for him, Ausmus did lead the Tigers to a division title in 2014, which was his first year on the job. Coincidently, it was Buck Showalter’s Baltimore Orioles that swept them in the ALDS.

I am definitely not here to give Ausmus my endorsement to be the manager, however, there are some things to consider when making this tough decision. He would definitely be an upgrade over the terrible Mickey Callaway and an out of his league Luis Rojas.

Ausmus would be coming into a team that has improved its roster drastically with the signings of Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, Mark Canha, and Eduardo Escobar. I am also sure with his playing time as a catcher he can’t wait to get to work with the pitching rotation that includes two aces in Scherzer & Jacob deGrom.

I’ve found it somewhat alarming that Scherzer didn’t mention wanting to play for Ausmus as he did for Showalter especially when he played for him during his final season in Detroit. I don’t know why but it just came off a little weird to me.

What I do know is that whether it’s Showalter, Ausmus, or someone else, this is a very crucial decision coming upon Cohen and Co. It is with the utmost importance that they get this hire right. They need to make sure that this hire fits their vision for next season and beyond.