Billy Eppler, former Mets general manager, under investigation by MLB, according to AP source
NEW YORK — After Billy Eppler resigned as New York Mets general manager on Thursday, a person familiar with the situation said he is under investigation by Major League Baseball.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.
The person did not disclose the nature of the probe, but the New York Post was first to report that Eppler is being investigated by MLB for improper use of the injured list.
Eppler's surprising resignation came three days after the Mets hired David Stearns as president of baseball operations. Eppler spent the last two seasons running baseball operations for the Mets.
The Mets said they could not comment because the investigation is ongoing.
Eppler's decision to step down continued an overhaul following a fourth-place finish for a Mets team that had playoff expectations and World Series aspirations. Mets owner Steve Cohen fired manager Buck Showalter on Sunday, saying Stearns deserved to bring in his own manager.
"I wanted David to have a clean slate and that meant me stepping down," Eppler said in a statement released by the team.
Cohen had long talked about hiring a president of baseball operations above Eppler and had said baseball operations leadership had become too large a job for one person. Eppler attended the Monday news conference at Citi Field to introduce Stearns, who discussed working in tandem with Eppler.
"Billy and I have had I think a really nice relationship going back years as competitors. Talking to each other, whether it's about transactions or just about industry events," said Stearns, who ran baseball operations for the Milwaukee Brewers boss and also held front office positions in Houston and Cleveland. "I have a lot of respect for the experience he has in this game, the experience he has in New York, and I'm looking forward to working with him."
But just a few days later, Eppler was out.
"He decided it is in everyone's best interest to fully hand over the leadership of baseball operations to David Stearns," Cohen said in a statement.
Eppler, 48, worked in scouting and player development for the Colorado Rockies from 2000 to 2004, then joined the New York Yankees. He was director of professional scouting from 2006-11 and an assistant general manager under Brian Cashman from 2012 to 2014.
Eppler was GM of the Los Angeles Angels from 2015 to 2020. He was fired after five losing seasons. The Mets gave him a four-year contract in November 2021 to become their fifth head of baseball operations in 13 months.
Eppler signed ace Max Scherzer and outfielder Starling Marte among his first moves, and the Mets went 101-61 in 2022 — the second-most wins in franchise history. But after leading the NL East for all but six days, they were caught at the finish by the Atlanta Braves and then lost to the San Diego Padres in the NL Wild Card Series.
The Mets boosted payroll to a major league-record $355 million at the start of the 2023 season by adding pitchers Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga and José Quintana. But the team faded by midsummer, traded veterans and finished at 75-87.
"I view the fact that there are people from multiple regimes here as a feature, not a bug. That's a good thing for us," Stearns said Monday. "We've got different perspectives. We come from different training. As long as we respect that about each other and we understand that different segments of our organization are going to view the problems we face a little bit differently, that's a really good thing. So I'm excited about that. And I think that's going to make us better."