Francisco Lindor reiterates desire for Buck Showalter to return in 2024: 'He's a great leader'

With the Mets wrapping up perhaps the most disappointing season in franchise history and David Stearns about to take over baseball operations as soon as it ends, the future of manager Buck Showalter is uncertain.

Showalter, 67, is under contract for 2024 in what would be the third and final season of the deal he signed before the 2022 season -- when he helped lead the Mets to 101 wins.

And one player who has the manager's back is Francisco Lindor, who reiterated his desire for Showalter to return next season.

Speaking with Mike Puma of The New York Post, Lindor said he didn't believe the presence of Stearns should mean the end of Showalter's tenure in Queens.

"I don’t think that’s the way Stearns runs stuff," Lindor told The Post. "From what I know he’s a very smart guy, he’s a guy that interacts with players and a guy that doesn’t make emotional decisions. He makes very educated decisions just like [owner] Steve Cohen does."

Lindor noted that he felt "love" and "respect" for Showalter.

"Buck holds everybody accountable, he’s a great leader, he’s outstanding at quieting the noise here in the clubhouse, which sometimes can be tough in New York, and he cares for the players," Lindor said. "He checks in with the players, he listens, he gathers information. There’s a lot of things I like about him. He’s been through good things and bad things and I think he’s an amazing manager, a Hall of Fame manager."

Lindor's sentiments on Showalter were similar to what he told SNY's Andy Martino at the end of June, when the Mets were spiraling but still a month away from the trade deadline sell-off that -- for all intents and purposes -- ended their season.

"He has not lost the team," Lindor told Martino. "He is still in the front. He is still holding on to the clubhouse. I told him last year, if he posts up, I’ll post up. And he has posted up every day."

Added Lindor:

"He has encouraged us. He has talked to us as a team. He has done everything he can in his power to push us to be better and hold us accountable."

It is impossible to quantify how much impact field managers have on wins and losses, and it's fair to say Showalter couldn't have done anything to mess up the 2022 Mets or anything to rescue the 2023 Mets.

It also needs to be pointed out that GM Billy Eppler, who will remain in that role under Stearns, gave Showalter a deeply flawed roster to work with -- with that roster then being negatively impacted by Edwin Diaz's season-ending knee injury and an early injury to Justin Verlander.

But at times this season, it felt like Showalter managed too much for the next day's game instead of being aggressive to secure the game in hand. It also seemed that he pushed back a bit on the acclimation of some of the Mets' prospects when it came to them gaining regular playing time.

Still, one of the things Lindor praised Showalter for -- being a leader and keeping the clubhouse together -- is incredibly valuable. Also extremely important is Showalter's experience in New York, ability to stay even keeled, and his savviness when it comes to dealing with the New York media twice daily during the season.

If the Mets and Showalter part ways, one logical replacement could be Craig Counsell, who is in the final year of his deal with the Brewers and has worked under Stearns since 2015.

Another option could be Padres manager Bob Melvin, whose relationship with San Diego's president of baseball operations A.J. Preller is reportedly beyond repair. The Mets had interest in hiring Melvin as manager before he took the Padres job.