Mets are finalizing deal to bring their new general manager: Billy Eppler

New York Mets
Dec 7, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; New York Mets sign and logo during the MLB winter meetings at Gaylord Opryland Resort. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

At long last, the New York Mets will finally have someone in charge of baseball decisions and running the team. Billy Eppler is reportedly finalizing a deal to become their new general manager, according to multiple sources including ESPN’s Jeff Passan and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

Eppler, 46, had accepted a position with William Morris Endeavor, which is a talent representation agency that recently ventured into the baseball world and had free agent shortstop Carlos Correa as its highest profile client. However, he will now take over the Mets, and the offseason, for them, can finally get started.

Eppler is best known for his time as the Los Angeles Angels’ general manager, which lasted from 2015 to 2020. He couldn’t deliver a playoff berth, but under his leadership, the Halos signed Mike Trout to an extension and brought two-way star Shohei Ohtani.

Before his stint with the Angels and joining the Mets, Eppler had spent 10 years with the Yankees, so he knows what it’s like to work in New York and deal with the huge expectations of a demanding fan base.

The Mets’ extensive search comes to an end

Before turning their attention to Eppler, the Mets had failed to convince at least 10 other candidates to join the team either as general manager or president of baseball operations.

David Stearns, Billy Beane, Theo Epstein, Billy Eppler, Matt Arnold, Raquel Ferreira, Michael Girsch, Jean Afterman, Scott Harris, Brandon Gomes, and Mark Shapiro were considered for the positions, but all of them turned them down, citing different reasons.

According to MLB Trade Rumors, Eppler broke into baseball as a scout with the Rockies in the early 2000s “before joining the Yankees in that same role. He was eventually named the Yankees’ director of scouting and, in 2011, promoted to the title of assistant general manager — a role he’d hold until being hired to lead the Angels’ baseball operations staff following the 2015 season.”