Mets GM Backs Buck Showalter amid Struggles: 'He's the Guy to Get Us Back on Track'

New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler gave manager Buck Showalter a vote of confidence Tuesday despite the team's abysmal 35-43 record.

"Buck's had a good amount of adversity heaped his way," Eppler told reporters. "… I think Buck's handled that adversity, and I think he's the guy to get us back on track."

The comments came on the same day Mets owner Steve Cohen issued a somewhat ominous tweet:

Still, it seems Showalter's job is safe for now. He was just the National League Manager of the Year a season ago and, as Eppler said, he has faced plenty of adversity to start the 2023 campaign.

Closer Edwin Díaz hasn't pitched since he tore the patellar tendon in his right knee while celebrating during the World Baseball Classic. Justin Verlander, José Quintana and Carlos Carrasco have also missed time in the pitching rotation, while Max Scherzer was suspended for 10 games for violating Major League Baseball's grip-enhancing substances rules.

Throw in struggles for notable players such as Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Starling Marte and Mark Canha, and it is no wonder the Mets have languished.

This is not how this season was supposed to unfold.

New York won 101 games in 2022 and added Verlander after he won the 2022 American League Cy Young for the Houston Astros. There was no reason to expect anything but an excellent season, especially for the team with the highest payroll in the league and plenty of high-profile stars.

Yet the Mets are in fourth place in the National League East and 16 games back of the Atlanta Braves.

Perhaps Showalter is the one to turn it around. After all, last season marked his fourth Manager of the Year award in a career that includes stops with the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles.

But the team is running out of time if it is going to be a serious contender.