At long last, the New York Mets have actually offered someone their General Manager job. That is to say, someone actually made it through the process without refusing or withdrawing …
Former Angels GM Billy Eppler gets the offer:
The Mets have offered Billy Eppler their general manager’s position, a source tells @TheAthletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 15, 2021
The Billy Eppler offer (reported by @Ken_Rosenthal) is believed to be the Mets first formal offer for the GM job. Many rumored, some declined and the organization zeroed in on Eppler over the past two days.
— Britt Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) November 15, 2021
Eppler was long considered and up-and-comer in the New York Yankees front office before getting his shot at the GM gig in Anaheim in late 2015. Although he lasted five years in that post, the Angels were obviously rather disappointing throughout his tenure, failing to build anything close to a winner around the best player in baseball, Mike Trout. The response to that might be that Eppler is best served being something more like a number two or three in an organization, rather than number one, and thus maybe he’s a perfect fit for the Mets’ unique situation (they are reportedly looking for a GM to hold down the fort, together with Sandy Alderson, until they can get who they really want next year).
None of that is to say that Eppler is a lock to take the job:
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
It would be very This Mets Search Process if they finally got to the point where they could make an offer, and the guy says no.