The direction and strategy of the New York Mets have changed drastically since the fire sale at the trade deadline. The team is eyeing a rapid rebuilding process, adjusting pieces of its roster for 2024 and competing in 2025.
This new approach to the team puts the spotlight on whether the coaching staff could be in the Mets clubhouse next season, especially Buck Showalter, after this debacle. If Buck is relieved of his duties as team manager, these five candidates would be the ideal ones to fill his position.
Eric Chavez is a logical option for the Mets
Before the trade deadline and during the June debacle, many fans called for the Mets to fire Buck Showalter as the team manager. In this scenario, the ideal option to command the team would have been Eric Chavez, the current bench coach for the Mets.
The former baseball player is being recognized in MLB for his baseball IQ and leadership skills. The fact of being next to a manager like Buck Showalter has made him gain experience in how to handle certain situations and events on and off the field of play.
Chavez would be an ideal option for the team for several reasons. He knows the players and the organization, and he can be a good transition manager with the new Mets model that by 2025 would be comprised of young prospects coming up that year. Finally, he is a young manager who would be more open to using advanced baseball analytics to manage, something that is a trend in competitive teams.
Chavez may be the manager who achieves the synergy between clubhouse harmony and on-field performance, something thought to have been achieved under Showalter but lost this season. Chavez can that A.J. Hinch, Alex Cora, or Kevin Cash, who have known how to use the best data of these times and turn it into a benefit for the players and the team.