Mets Rumors: Buck Showalter Interested in Manager Job

Former Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter would like to be a candidate for the New York Mets' vacancy after being out of the league in 2019.

Showalter let his interest be known during an interview on WFAN's Steve Somers Show on Thursday:

"Yeah, I'd like to be talked about it, but I'm not going to campaign about it, and I'm real uncomfortable even talking about it with you now because there's a lot of good people out there and they're going to make a good decision. They'll have reasons why and why not, and, you know, I respect that."      

New York fired Mickey Callaway on Thursday following an 86-76 performance this season, which resulted in a third-place finish in the National League East. It marked a nine-win improvement from Callaway's first year on the job.

Showalter has spent 20 years as a big-league manager, leading four different franchises. He has managed the New York Yankees (1992-95), the Arizona Diamondbacks (1998-2000), the Texas Rangers (2003-06) and the Orioles (2010-18).

He has a career record of 1,551-1,517 and has led a team to the postseason five times, compiling a 9-14 record in the playoffs. He is a three-time American League Manager of the Year, winning the honor in New York (1994), Texas (2004) and Baltimore (2014).

Though the Orioles have lost 108-plus games in each of the past two seasons, Showalter had the organization contending in the AL East for the majority of the decade. Baltimore finished .500 or better every season from 2012 to 2016, reaching the playoffs three times during that span.

Showalter had compiled a 622-569 record through his first seven-plus years in Baltimore. However, a 47-115 performance in 2018 dropped his record with the team below .500 (669-684) despite the fact he finished his tenure with only three losing seasons.

Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen revealed Thursday that the team already has "expansive" list of candidates to replace Callaway. He did not reveal any names, though, so it's unclear if Showalter will be in the running.