The Mets’ hasty postseason departure won’t result in changes at two key positions in the team’s hierarchy.
Both general manager Billy Eppler and manager Buck Showalter’s jobs are safe heading into next season, a high-ranking Mets official told The Post on Monday. The Mets concluded their season Sunday with a loss in Game 3 of the wild-card series to the Padres.
Under Eppler and Showalter the Mets won 101 games — the second-highest total in franchise history — but were overtaken by the Braves in the NL East race in the final days of the season. That second-place finish meant playing an added layer of playoffs, in the wild-card round.
The Mets have a long-term goal of hiring a president of baseball operations above the GM, but that initiative won’t necessarily be implemented this offseason. Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns has been a previous target. Stearns has another year remaining on his contract, and the Mets could conceivably wait for him to become a free agent.
The Mets are also in the midst of a search for a new team president — Sandy Alderson will step down from the position once his replacement is found — but that person won’t necessarily have a baseball background and could be hired primarily to oversee the organization’s business operations.
Eppler was hired last November following an exhaustive GM search. Eppler’s offseason moves included acting swiftly to sign Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, Mark Canha and Eduardo Escobar to multiyear contracts. Eppler also recommended the hiring of Showalter (with whom he shared Yankees roots) as the team’s manager.
Under Showalter the Mets started fast and built a 10 ½-game lead on the Braves by June 1. But the Braves played the final four months at an epic pace, going 78-33 to win a fifth-straight division title. Included was a three-game sweep of the Mets in the penultimate series of the regular season that all but ended the Mets’ NL East title chances.
Mets manager Buck Showalter during Game 3 of the wild-card series against the Padres on Oct. 9, 2022. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Mets general manager Billy Eppler during spring training on March 23, 2022. Corey SipkinBut the Mets reached the postseason for the first time in six years, despite receiving only 11 starts from ace Jacob deGrom and losing Scherzer twice to the injured list.






