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The Mets have offered their vacant general manager job to former Angels GM Billy Eppler, according to a report Monday from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Eppler is pondering whether to accept the offer or remain in his position with the William Morris Enterprise agency — a job he just started in September.
The Mets have offered Billy Eppler their general manager’s position, a source tells @TheAthletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 15, 2021
Heard Billy Eppler was in NY to talk face-to-face with Steve Cohen. Was offered the GM job. Heading home to California to decide whether to take the job or stay with his new venture with William Morris, which is expanding its baseball agent footprint.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) November 15, 2021
Though he’s a California native, the 46-year-old Eppler has significant ties to the Northeast and New York City: He attended the University of Connecticut and worked in the Yankees’ front office from 2004-15, topping out as New York’s assistant general manager before being hired as the Angels’ GM in October 2015.
Eppler signed Mike Trout to a long-term extension and acquired Shohei Ohtani during his tenure in Los Angeles, but he consistently struggled to assemble a sufficient amount of depth, and the Angels finished under .500 in all five of his seasons as GM, finishing in fourth place in four of the five years.
While Eppler doesn’t necessarily have a resume that qualifies him for a second chance as a major league GM, but with all the factors that have made the Mets’ GM job undesirable to more qualified candidates — significant scrutiny by the New York media, potential interference by owner Steve Cohen and president Sandy Alderson, and the consistent rumors about the Mets wanting to hire David Stearns as president of baseball operations when his contract with the Brewers expires — Eppler may be the best executive the Mets can get right now.
During their front office search, the Mets have reportedly been turned down by an extensive group including but not limited to Stearns, MLB consultant Theo Epstein, Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro, Athletics VP of baseball operations Billy Beane, Cardinals GM Michael Girsch, Brewers GM Matt Arnold, Giants GM Scott Harris, Red Sox assistant GM Raquel Ferreira, Yankees assistant GM Jean Afterman, Twins assistant GM Daniel Adler, Dodgers assistant GMs Brandon Gomes and Jeff Kingston, and Rays VP of player development Peter Bendix.
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