Add general manager to the list of roles David Stearns will fill for the Mets. In an unexpected move, Billy Eppler stepped down from his role with the club announcing his resignation Thursday afternoon. Multiple outlets are reporting Eppler was being investigated by Major League Baseball for improper use of the injured list.
“Billy Eppler led this team through a 101-win season and postseason berth last year and he will be missed,” owner and CEO Steve Cohen said in a statement. “We accepted Billy’s resignation today as he decided it is in everyone’s best interest to fully hand over the leadership of baseball operations to David Stearns. On behalf of the Mets organization, we wish him all the best.”
Eppler had two years remaining on his contract. He was brought two years ago to lead the club’s baseball operations efforts after Cohen fired the first two GMs he hired, Jared Porter and Zack Scott. He previously held the same position with the Los Angeles Angels from 2015-2020, replacing Jerry Dipoto after he resigned abruptly in the middle of the 2015 season.
Prior to his return to Southern California, the San Diego native worked in the Yankees front office with general manager Brian Cashman.
After overseeing a 101-win season in 2022, the 48-year-old Eppler was tasked with assembling the most expensive roster baseball has ever seen. The Mets fielded a payroll of $364 million. But they never even sniffed the playoffs in 2023, turning in a historically disappointing season, going 75-87 and finishing fourth in the NL East.
The Mets hired Stearns away from the Milwaukee Brewers earlier this week, installing him as the team’s first-ever president of baseball operations. The expectation was that Eppler was going to work underneath Stearns, but it was still a demotion for Eppler.
“I wanted David to have a clean slate and that meant me stepping down,” Eppler said in a statement. “I hope for nothing but the best for the entire Mets organization.”
Eppler wasn’t Cohen’s first choice for the role and the owner made note of that in June when he addressed the media at the end of a month that ultimately sunk the Mets.
“I was lucky enough to find Billy two years ago,” Cohen said on June 28. “It was really difficult to find somebody to run this team, which is kind of remarkable to New York team.”
It shouldn’t have been surprising given the team’s history, especially recently. Since 2017, the Mets have fired five managers and gone through five general managers, not counting the 2019 triumvirate of John Ricco, J.P. Ricciardi and Omar Minaya. Despite new ownership, the tumult has continued.
Eppler’s time with the Mets was brief but eventful. He made some good moves that paid off in 2022, like signing ace Max Scherzer, outfielders Starling Marte and Mark Canha and trading for right-hander Chris Bassitt. In 2023, he landed right-handers Justin Verlander and Kodai Senga, left-hander Jose Quintana and outfielder Tommy Pham.
But between bad trades in 2022 and bad roster construction in 2023, the Mets were unable to sustain any success.
Eppler traded for Daniel Vogelbach and Darin Ruf to platoon at the DH spot. Vogelbach initially produced, but Ruf didn’t. He was cut in March. Vogelbach became a lightning rod for controversy in 2023 when the Mets continued to put him in the lineup despite dismal numbers. As the Daily News’ Bill Madden previously reported, Eppler and his analytics team forced manager Buck Showalter to continue to use Vogelbach against right-handed pitching citing his on-base abilities. But his production didn’t pick up until it was too late.
The Mets had only a .700 OPS at the DH spot in 2023.
Eppler was also scrutinized for his approach to building the bullpen, prioritizing fringe pitchers with options over established arms. This proved to be detrimental after Edwin Diaz was injured during the World Baseball Classic. The bullpen lacked reliable arms outside of right-handers David Robertson, Adam Ottavino and left-hander Brooks Raley.
The Mets finished with a pitching WAR of 10.4, the sixth-lowest in baseball, according to Fangraphs.
However, the farm system is in a better place because of Eppler. The former GM used the 2023 trade deadline to infuse the farm system with high-end talent, using the resources he had in Cohen’s money.
Eppler’s hiring was met with scrutiny in 2021. The Angels never reached the postseason under Eppler, even with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. Left-hander Tyler Skaggs passed away during Eppler’s final season by choking on vomit after using drugs and alcohol and it was later discovered that the drugs were provided to him by Eric Kay, a former communications staffer. Five former players admitted to receiving drugs from Kay, including former Mets ace Matt Harvey.
Under Eppler, the Angels also hired former Mets manager Mickey Callaway to work as Joe Maddon’s pitching coach. Callaway was fired in 2021 after he was placed on the ineligible list because of multiple allegations of sexual harassment.
Stearns has several positions he’ll need to fill, including general manager, manager, director of pro scouting and farm director, among others.
