27 ways Mets’ management has destroyed the team

New York Mets fans have a tendency to blame the players. It’s lazy. It’s taking the easy way out. Let’s dive in and take a look at 27 ways Mets’ management has failed in spectacular fashion. 

Earlier this season, I wrote ‘27 ways Mets could potentially improve their collective performance‘ in an effort to offer possible solutions to the team’s many problems and roadblocks.

I received positive feedback on the story, in part due to the streamlined structure of the formatting. A simple list. Nice and clean.

Now, just about a month later, I’ll give it another run, but this time with a less positive spin. After Tuesday night’s loss, let’s hope it serves as a wakeup call.

27 ways Cohen, Showalter and Eppler have failed the Mets

1. Initially hiring Billy Eppler as New York’s GM was a critical mistake by owner Steve Cohen. Eppler had a putrid 332-376 record as the Angels’ embattled GM, despite consistently having one of the highest payrolls in MLB. He botched draft picks, trades and signings with alarming consistency.
2. Initially hiring Buck Showalter as the manager was another critical mistake by Cohen. Despite managing 3,292 MLB games, Showalter has never won a World Series. Immediately after being fired by the Yankees and Diamondbacks, they both won the World Series (with Joe Torre and Bob Brenly, respectively). Showalter has a proven track record of losing with teams that are ready-made for the World Series.
3. Dating back to the beginning of the 2022 season, I wrote that the Mets were winning in spite of Showalter, not because of him. Early in the season, he was batting washed-up Robinson Cano higher in the batting order than Jeff McNeil and Mark Canha, while simultaneously taking DH at bats away from both J.D. Davis and Dominic Smith.
4. Showalter and Eppler drastically mishandled Smith. Did you know that Dominic Smith was 13th in NL MVP voting as recently as 2020? Showalter and Eppler never gave him any confidence. They never gave him consistent at bats or a general feeling of comfort. They killed the confidence of a talented, young left-handed hitter.
5. Showalter and Eppler also mishandled Davis. Did you know that Yu Darvish named J.D. Davis as one of the top-five hitters in the National League? This is a seasoned MLB All-Star with almost 2,000 career strikeouts. Darvish knows what he is talking about. Instead, he received the same treatment from Eppler and Showalter: Inconsistent at bats, inconsistent usage, mixed messages from management.
6. Eppler’s trade of Davis was arguably the worst in recent Mets history. Davis and three prospects for Darin Ruf, a 36-year-old journeyman with a .239 lifetime batting average and .329 OBP? FYI, Davis is currently slashing .286/.371/.481, which would make him one of the best hitters on the current Mets roster. Ruf is a non-factor in MLB.
7. In connection with No. 3 on this list, Showalter cost the 2022 team wins with his overuse of Cano. For some reason, he couldn’t see that Cano was completely finished. Would the Mets have blown the division lead if they had a larger cushion due to less usage of Cano? I think yes. And I thought along those lines as early as 15 games into last season.
8. In connection with No. 7, Showalter let his team blow a 10.5-game division lead last year. You can’t only blame the players. Otherwise, what’s the point of even having a manager in the first place?
9. Eppler’s trade of talented reliever Colin Holderman for Daniel Vogelbach is another candidate for ‘worst in recent years.’ Holderman is currently one of the best relievers in the NL, sporting a 2.74 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 23 innings of work for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He even threw an Immaculate Inning this season. Meanwhile, Vogelbach’s embarrassing struggles have been well-documented throughout MLB. New York should have Davis and Holderman instead of Vogelbach and Tommy Hunter/Stephen Nogosek/Dominic Leone (pick your poison). These are huge roster differences.
10. Eppler’s 2022 trade deadline killed the Mets’ chances at a World Series. We’ve already discussed Ruf and Vogelbach, but Tyler Naquin and Mychal Givens were also huge busts. Eppler totally flopped at the deadline, while the San Diego Padres got Juan Soto, Josh Hader, Brandon Drury and Josh Bell… then knocked the Mets out of the playoffs. Karma, indeed.
11. General lack of urgency from Cohen, Eppler and Showalter. They all seem to be like-minded in that regard. For most of last season, it was pretty clear that New York had the best team in baseball. Chances like that come and go. That was the time to strike with a monster trade deadline. Instead, they did the bare minimum.
12. Moving on to 2023, catcher Francisco Alvarez — widely considered the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball — should have been on the MLB roster to begin the season. He needs consistent at bats and playing time to get comfortable at the MLB level. The Baltimore Orioles (37-23 record) have given catching prospect Adley Rutschman all he can eat in terms of playing time.
13. Catcher Tomas Nido should never have been on the MLB roster. Widely considered among the worst offensive players in baseball this season, Nido hit .125 with zero home runs. Every single time he played, he killed the Mets. He killed rallies. He destroyed games. Terrible management.
14. Eppler should have DFA’d Nido much earlier and kept Gary Sanchez, who is now the everyday starting catcher for the Padres. He has a .924 OPS with three homers in just 30 at bats for San Diego.
15. Brett Baty should have been called up from Triple A as soon as he got hot. Eduardo Escobar is past his prime and best fit for a part-time role at this stage in his lengthy career.
16. Mark Vientos should have been called up from Triple A smack in the middle of his incredible home run barrage. Again, Cohen, Eppler and Showalter simply waited too long.
17. Ronny Mauricio has been the best hitter in MiLB, so why is he still down there?
18. Vogelbach is batting .209 with no speed and no defense, so why is he still on the MLB roster?
19. Baty should have consistently been playing against righties and lefties for player development reasons.
20. Vientos should have consistently been playing against righties and lefties for player development reasons.
21. Vogelbach should never be batting ahead of Alvarez, Baty or Vientos in any batting order. Eppler and Showalter consistently fail to give their young players the confidence they need to succeed long-term.
22. When Edwin Diaz went down during the World Baseball Classic, Eppler did nothing. He just let everyone ‘slot-up’ in the bullpen. The result has been an extremely thin New York bullpen.
23. Eppler’s acquisitions of Dominic Leone and Vinny Nittoli have backfired. The Mets should be targeting serious contributors on MLB teams that are out of the race.
24. Showalter’s handling of the bullpen has been putrid.
25. Showalter’s handling of the batting order has been downright awful.
26. Cohen has already waited too long to fire Eppler.
27. Cohen has also waited too long to fire Showalter.

Whatever happens now, it’s too little, too late for Steve Cohen and his Mets. They’ve done it to themselves. It’s all their fault, with no one else to blame.

John Frascella is a published baseball author who has been covering MLB for 19 years. Follow him on Twitter @LegendSports7 for all things MLB, NBA and NFL.