During his introductory press conference as President of Baseball Operations for the New York Mets, David Stearns spoke of working with general manager Billy Eppler. That will not happen.
Instead of working with Eppler, one of Stearns’ first jobs will be replacing him.
Eppler announced his resignation on Thursday amidst an investigation over the team’s use of the injured list.
“In a stunning development, Billy Eppler resigned Thursday as Mets general manager amid an ongoing Major League Baseball investigation into alleged improper uses of the injured list, Mike Puma, Joel Sherman, Jon Heyman and Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post reported. “MLB confirmed the problem to The Post. When MLB informed the Mets of the investigation, Eppler decided to resign rather than to potentially become a distraction to the new David Stearns administration.”
The reaction to this news was mixed.
Of course, there was a mindset that the Mets just can’t ever get out of their own way, regardless of who’s running the show. But there was also a mindset that Eppler and the Mets were being investigated for what’s become a fairly standard practice around the league.
Eppler had been the team’s general manager since the end of the 2021 season. He helped oversee the offseason for the team that ended up winning 101 games in 2022, with the signing of Max Scherzer being the most notable move. The 2023 season was not nearly as successful as despite adding star Justin Verlander, the Mets regressed to 75-87. Eppler traded both Scherzer and Verlander at the 2023 deadline.