2023 was a difficult year for former New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler. And 2024 might be an even tougher one. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is placing him on the Ineligible List for next season due to a violation of injury list rules, according to the New York Post's Joel Sherman.
Eppler resigned from the organization last October amid a league investigation. After four months, the MLB determined that he “improperly assigned players to the IL during his tenure as Mets GM, fabricated injuries and submitted false documentation to those ends,” per MLB.com's Anthony DiComo.
Any roster manipulation did nothing to help the club in 2023, which stunningly flopped last year after accumulating the most expensive payroll in the sport's history. Eppler's job status was assumed to be in severe doubt when David Stearns became the Mets' new president of baseball operations, but the former Milwaukee Brewers executive decided to keep the general manager on staff.
There was little time for Eppler to exhale, though. His near-two-year run in New York ended and his future prospects were undeniably hindered by the ongoing investigation. Now, he has no hope of holding a position with an MLB franchise in 2024, unless Rob Manfred says otherwise.
The disingenuous injury list activity is something fans often speculate about whenever a struggling ballplayer is made inactive. But this punishment adds a layer of seriousness to the matter. For their part, the Mets are moving forward with Stearns and separating themselves from any misdoings of the Billy Eppler Era.
This club is a magnet for controversy, bizarre happenings and bombshell news, however, so fans should be prepared for a lively 2024 campaign. One that hopefully is more defined by on-field success than organizational shortcomings.
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