Mets announce Buck Showalter as new manager

Three-time AL Manager of the Year Buck Showalter is returning to manage the New York Mets, team owner Steven Cohen announced on Twitter.

Showalter, 65, last spent nine seasons with the Baltimore Orioles before his contract was allowed to expire after the 2018 season. More recently, he's appeared as an analyst on MLB Network and YES Network. Showalter also had stints as manager of the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Texas Rangers.

The Mets announced in October that the team declined the 2022 option on manager Luis Rojas' contract after a disappointing 77-85 season. Rojas was later hired as the Yankees' third-base coach. 

New York led the NL East for three straight months in the 2021 season and had a five-game lead at the end of July. But the Mets won just six games over a 25-game stretch in August and dropped under .500 and into third place. The team finished the season with just five wins in its last 18 games.

The Mets have been aggressive so far in the offseason, landing three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer on a three-year, $130 million deal. The team also bolstered its offense by adding Starling Marte, Mark Canha, and Eduardo Escobar.

Showalter has a career record of 1551-1517 and has been to the postseason five times in his career. His deepest run was when the Orioles advanced to the 2014 AL Championship Series, but were swept by the Kansas City Royals.