New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler resigns amid reported MLB investigation
The Mets are now looking for a new manager and general manager this offseason
New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler resigned Thursday, the team announced, just days after the organization fired manager Buck Showalter.
"I wanted David [president of baseball operations David Stearns] to have a clean slate and that meant me stepping down," Eppler said in a very short statement. "I hope for nothing but the best for the entire Mets organization."
Hours later, the Mets were reported by the New York Post to have been under MLB investigation over allegedly improper use of the injured list under Eppler. The executive reportedly told the Mets he did not want to be a distraction and stepped down.
Eppler reportedly has not spoken with MLB yet, but is cooperating with the league's ongoing investigation.
The Mets hired former Milwaukee Brewers executive David Stearns as the team's next president of baseball operations earlier this fall. That hire worked out as a de facto demotion for Eppler, the team's previous top baseball executive, but he seemed on track to remain with the team after attending Stearns' introductory news conference.
Stearns will now be tasked with hiring both a new manager and, presumably, a new general manager.
"Billy Eppler led this team through a 101-win season and postseason berth last year and he will be missed," Mets owner 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."
The Mets finished this season with a 74-87 record, which put them 30 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East and 10 games out of the NL wild-card picture. The Mets split with Showalter, last year's NL Manager of the Year, after just two seasons.
Eppler was hired as the team's general manager in 2021. The team went 101-61 last season and made its first playoff appearance in seven seasons, though the Mets were knocked out in the wild-card round.
Eppler traded away a big chunk of the Mets' roster at the deadline this summer — including stars Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Tommy Pham and David Robertson — though he insisted the deals weren't a "rebuild" or a "fire sale." He reportedly told Scherzer, however, that he didn't think the club could be competitive until the 2025 or 2026 seasons "at the earliest."
The Mets, who haven't won a World Series since 1986, started the season with the largest payroll in the league at $331 million.
