In February, Major League Baseball imposed a one-year ban on former New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler for violating injured list regulations. Interestingly, it was an insider from the Mets who alerted MLB to these transgressions.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that a whistleblower within the Mets organization disclosed Eppler’s questionable injury-related practices. While manipulating or feigning injuries to retain players is not uncommon, it’s unusual for such evidence to reach the desk of MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.
The league’s statement on the suspension outlined Eppler’s infractions, which included “improper use of injured list placements, including the deliberate fabrication of injuries, and the submission of documentation to secure multiple improper Injured List placements during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.”
Heyman mentioned that when confronted by MLB, Eppler admitted to some of the practices, partly because he perceived them as common within the industry.
Former Mets pitcher Tommy Hunter expressed surprise at the severity of Eppler’s punishment. He remarked to the New York Post that singling out Eppler seemed unjust, given the widespread nature of the practice across the league.
Eppler, aged 48, resigned from his position in October, stating his desire for the team’s new president of baseball operations, David Stearns, to begin with a “clean slate.” Shortly thereafter, reports surfaced about MLB’s investigation into the Mets’ misuse of the injured list.
According to reports, Eppler chose to depart from the Mets to avoid being a distraction to the team. Consequently, the organization opted not to hire a replacement for him during the offseason.
Stearns explained the decision by stating, “We’ve got enough going on right now… we’ll tackle that at a different point.”
