First 2023 MLB manager fired odds: Mets' Buck Showalter now behind only Tigers' AJ Hinch among favorites

It was around this time last year when the first manager was fired in Major League Baseball, and it's somewhat unusual for the season to reach the All-Star break without at least one canned. Two months ago, the favorite via SportsLine oddsmakers to be the first manager dismissed in 2023 was Detroit's AJ Hinch, and he's still in that spot. However, closing fast is the New York Mets' Buck Showalter.

New York lost 2-1 in Pittsburgh on Sunday, its eighth defeat in nine games, to fall to 31-35. The team is much closer to last place in the NL East than first despite an MLB-record payroll of approximately $340 million. To make the playoffs at DraftKings, the Mets are currently +125 and -145 to go home early. One might think having a seven-game losing streak as New York just did would be a playoff killer, but the Mets have made the playoffs twice when having at least a seven-game skid in the regular season, doing so in 1999 and 2015.

It's certainly not Showalter's fault that All-Star closer Edwin Diaz suffered a serious injury in the World Baseball Classic and is likelyu out for the entire season, or Showalter's fault that the Carlos Correa contract situation didn't work out. Or that Justin Verlander looks past his prime at age 40. Or that mega-durable All-Star first baseman and NL MVP candidate Pete Alonso, with an MLB-best 22 homers, was hit on the wrist by a pitch last week and could miss another month.

The "Mets Fire Showalter" columns are likely being pre-written as we speak. While it's likely not time to move on from the highly respected manager just yet, time is running out to save this all-in World Series season. Just looking at the division, the Phillies' 2022 campaign completely changed whey then fired Joe Girardi early last June and promoted Rob Thomson to manager. He led them to the World Series.

In an interview with the New York Post over the weekend, Mets owner Steve Cohen said that he wasn't ready to blow things up regarding Showalter and GM Billy Eppler.

"When things get really bad, I'm not going to blow up," Cohen told the Post. "I don't think that's the proper response. I don't think it solves anything, other than it gives people a one-day story. But it doesn't really solve anything. There's plenty of blame to go around from a performance point of view. So blowing up, I'm not sure it solves anything. It would demonstrate, 'Oh, he really cares. He's one of us.' But the reality is it's not going to solve our problems, and I think in some ways it can be demotivating."

All the Mets' issues will be magnified early this week in the media when they face the Yankees in the Subway Series on Tuesday and Wednesday – one that unfortunately will be missing not just Alonso but also Aaron Judge, who is second in the majors with 19 HRs and currently on the Injured List.

The Tigers overhauled their front office after last season, with new GM Scott Harris, formerly of the San Francisco Giants, taking over and opting to keep Hinch even though Detroit regressed in a big way last year from 2021. It's more of the same in 2023 with the team at 26-37 and on a nine-game losing streak. The Tigers, the only team winless in June, were playing much better and nearly at .500 when young star outfielder Riley Greene was lost to injury for 6-8 weeks on May 30.

Detroit has been in free fall since and blew a 5-3 ninth-inning lead Sunday in a 7-5 home loss to Arizona, the type of loss that could be a last straw for Hinch. He used closer Alex Lange in the seventh and eighth, then inserted Jason Foley for the ninth, and Foley blew the save: "I didn't want to use Lange in the seventh, but they had Emmanuel Rivera up, and he crushes lefties," Hinch said. "I knew we needed a strikeout, and he's the most equipped, plus we had Foley for the ninth."

Via SportsLine oddsmakers: Who will be the first MLB manager fired this season?

• AJ Hinch, Tigers Even
• Buck Showalter, Mets +300
• Bud Black, Rockies +400
• Mark Kotsay, A's +700
• None +800
• Dave Martinez, Nationals +1000
• Alex Cora, Red Sox +1500
• Oliver Marmol, Cardinals +1700

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