4 manager candidates the Astros should avoid like the plague

Buck Showalter

Vegas odds for the next Astros manager have Buck Showalter at +700, tied for second-best odds. Hiring Showalter would be at best be a lateral move from Dusty Baker and at worst a step back. 

The New York Mets just assembled a super team and imploded under Showalter’s watch in half a season. When the Astros re-acquired JV, Verlander was very open about how excited he was to be back in a forward thinking, analytical organization. 

Tommy Pham, now playing for the Diamondbacks in the World Series, destroyed the Mets culture on his way out after being traded. Houston has built a winning culture that always outworks the opposition. Why would they hire a manager that just lost the clubhouse?

The Mets just hired David Stearns to be their president. Stearns played a big role in the Astros rise under Jeff Luhnow, and was one of the msot sought-after executives on the market. If Stearns, one of the best execs that has ever been in the Astros front office, wanted to move on from Showalter, that should be a sign for the Astros to steer clear.

The Astros managed to get Dusty Baker over the hump for his first ring, but they aren't a charity organization. If Buck Showalter is to win his first ring, and for that matter, pennant, it's going to have to be elsewhere.