Mets zero in on Billy Eppler to be the club’s new GM

Just when we got used to the idea of Adam Cromie as the Mets’ new GM, word came out yesterday that Billy Eppler is likely to take the job. Eppler was previously the GM of the Angels but was fired before the start of last season. Before that, Eppler worked in a variety of positions for the Yankees. Is it a home run hire? Eh, probably not. At the same time, it probably doesn’t matter very much in the overall scheme of things.

Now, that may be an odd thing to say from a fan of a team that once employed Brodie Van Wagenen. But there are checks in place, in both Sandy Alderson and Steve Cohen, that simply weren’t there when Van Wagenen was overseen by his golfing buddy Jeff Wilpon. Besides that, the Mets don’t have any elite center fielders to trade anymore. And if Eppler tries to trade Francisco Alvarez or Brett Baty, either Alderson or Cohen will nix it.

Once again, we come back to perception. The fan base perceived that it was crucial that the team hired a GM, the sooner the better. And while Eppler doesn’t come aboard before the GM meetings, he’s here with the biggest free agent off the board being Eduardo Rodriguez, who likely wasn’t one of the team’s top five targets, perhaps not even top 10. So, the fact that they didn’t hire someone the day after the World Series ended really didn’t hurt very much, if at all.

It was a pipe dream that they were going to lure Theo Epstein here and it was always very unlikely that they were going to be able to hire a big name that was already under contract. Yeah, they missed out on some assistant GM types. It’s not anything to lose sleep over, even if you’re underwhelmed with the choice of Eppler.

The Angels’ tenure for Eppler was hardly a smashing success. But if it did play out that way, then Eppler would still be employed in LA. He has experience running the show in a major market and for those who blame Alderson for everything from Jacob deGrom’s injury to rising gas prices, it will mean that Alderson’s day-to-day influence goes down dramatically from the day Eppler is officially hired.

Eppler was still under contract to the Angels last year, even if he was no longer running the show. It gave him a full year to reflect on what he did well and what he needed to improve if he got another GM shot in the future.

One of the big questions surrounding Eppler is how much he was handcuffed by Angels owner Arte Moreno, who certainly has a reputation for being a meddling owner. Is that reputation deserved? Maybe, but I don’t pretend to know. Is Steve Cohen a meddling owner? He hasn’t been portrayed that way yet in the press, although it’s likely he’s still in the honeymoon phase. So far, the one thing that can be said for sure is that he’s sent out some tweets that perhaps he shouldn’t. If the owner tweeting that the players on a below-.500 team need to play better makes it difficult for you to do your job – maybe your skin isn’t thick enough to work in New York.

The Mets need to make multiple moves this offseason, yet there isn’t any one clear path to success. While my thought is that they need to add at least one big pitcher, someone else might think the key is to add two-way stars in the infield and outfield. And someone else can believe that adding two impact relievers and playing the bullpen game on a regular basis is the way forward.

What we know for sure is that no matter what path Eppler takes, it won’t make any difference if two guys counted on for big production fall flat, another is the worst player in baseball for two months and yet another takes four months to get going. To say nothing of all of the injuries and how the free agent catcher turned back into a pumpkin,

A lot of the Mets’ problems are solved if players return to career norms and if they have just a regular number of injuries. Now, that doesn’t mean if those two things happen then the club can print World Series tickets. There’s still work to be done. But it’s work that any competent executive should be able to undertake.

We saw immediately last year the result of the improved “infrastructure,” as the Mets beefed up their analytics and saw improvement in their defense. Hopefully we see continued improvement in this and other areas in 2022 under Eppler and whoever he hires as manager.

My hope is that the Mets take the same path with their new manager that they did with their new GM. Hire a guy who has experience, preferably recent experience and not a guy who’s been out of the game for a dozen years. And let’s hope they put some emphasis on managing the game that’s being played that day, too. The last thing we need is to prioritize schmoozing with mainstream media writers.

We saw in the Francisco Lindor–Jeff McNeil blowup how valuable schmoozing the press really is. Sure, Luis Rojas kept it from being a PR nightmare. But did that help the club win one game? Let’s hire a manager who’s not going to melt if the press doesn’t write flattering things about his club every single day.

The players, coaches, executives and owner need to be able to function in an environment that isn’t 100% positive 100% of the time. If you’re hitting below your weight, you need to be able to hear that you stink and still be able to turn things around. If you look for any reason to pull starters and sit on your hands when there’s moves to be made with your hitters, you need to handle being told that you’re out of your league. If your free agent moves blow up in your face, you need to accept responsibility and be prepared to make multiple moves at the trading deadline. And if your new expensive toy doesn’t immediately provide satisfaction, you need to view it as a long-term investment and not day-old bread.

My opinion is that Eppler can handle things not being perfect, which might make him the perfect candidate. We shall see.