YES Network backs away from Buck Showalter hire due to wild Mets contract

The Yankees tried to have a little fun prior to the 2024 season, but unfortunately, Steve Cohen and the Mets Buckblocked them.

Buck Showalter, shown above gesturing dismissively at the concept of a bullpen, was a delightful presence in the YES Network studio prior to returning to the dugout with the Mets for the 2022 season. That return didn't quite go according to plan in the long-term; the star-studded '22 Mets flamed out in the Wild Card round after loosing their grasp on the NL East, and 2023 was a full-fledged disaster where nary a part of the plan worked. That resulted in Showalter's dismissal/return to television; he'll work for MLB Network part-time, and YES considered bringing him back.

Those conversations were preliminary, though. In reality, the executives at YES backed away from Showalter when they noticed he was still under contract with the Mets, who could block his pursuit of the job. The Mets claim they wouldn't have done so, in the end, but the Yankees didn't want to test their mettle.

Yankees tried to hire Buck Showalter, got scared of Mets' weird contract details

And so those who wanted Showalter hired in Aaron Boone's place following the 2021 season must continue to wait to find out how he would be assessing these 2024 Yankees daily. Those pinstripe-focused MLB Network segments will be must-watch TV for a certain sect of the fanbase, though.

And hey, whatever happened to Cameron Maybin at YES Network anyway?! Can anyone answer that question, while we're lingering here? Miss that dude.

Boone and Cashman might only have one additional year together, if things go very poorly in an all-in 2024 season featuring Juan Soto. Regardless of the fate of the Yankees' manager/front office combo, though, the 67-year-old Showalter wouldn't make much sense as a potential dugout replacement. Neither will the man YES Network hired as a part-timer instead of Showalter: Joe Girardi.

His commentary on Boone's decision-making should prove to be at least 1,000 times more awkward this summer than anything Showalter and his folksy charm could've offered, though. We have to thank whoever snuck the non-compete provision into Showalter's contract for that bit of weirdness.