The New York Mets decided not to wait for the resolution of Zack Scott’s DUI case in December and fired him this week. They now have no general manager or a head of baseball operations, and they have been searching for a while now.
The Mets have tried to lure top-end talent in the offices. They swung and missed with Theo Epstein, Billy Beane, David Stearns, and a number of highly regarded young executives currently shining with winning teams.
But they did talk with a famous executive recently. According to Andy Martino of SNY.tv, “the Mets have interviewed Billy Eppler for their exec vacancy and he remains under consideration, sources tell SNY. (He had a) Successful run with Yankees and (a) difficult situation with Moreno in Anaheim. Currently working on the agency side.â€
The Mets are interested in Eppler
Eppler had a stint as the Los Angeles Angels’ general manager from 2015 to 2020, and while he couldn’t get the team into the playoffs during his tenure, he did sign Mike Trout to an extension and lured Shohei Ohtani, among other teams. He also brought Anthony Rendon.
Before leading the Angels, Eppler was a member of the Yankees’ front office, specifically, Brian Cashman’s right hand. He joined the Yanks in 2005 as a scout, working with Mark Newman and Damon Oppenheimer. He was then promoted the director of professional scouting.
Eppler is known for his use of statistics and has valuable experience in player evaluation and running a franchise, although his time with the Angels wasn’t particularly fruitful when it comes to results.
The Mets would ideally fill two positions before long: president of baseball operations and general manager, although it’s possible they hire just the latter.
As of now, their search has been unsuccessful, but it remains to be seen if they seriously consider Eppler. The two men they hired in the last year have had different off-the-field issues: Jared Porter was fired for sexual misconduct and Scott for driving under the influence.