New York Mets’ Top Brass Overhaul Continues as GM Surprisingly Steps Down Days After Disappointing Season’s End

The 2023 MLB season is opening doors to massive changes for multiple teams. As the season prematurely ended for several big franchises, they are looking for the reason behind the failure. Barring a few teams, others are taking wholesome steps to rectify ‘what went wrong’ this season. After the New York Yankees decided to entertain a third-party audit, the Mets listed themselves on this wave of change, starting from their management. While announcing their decision of firing Buck Showalter on Sunday, little did they know a bigger shock was waiting for them. The sudden step-down move by the GM has surprised fans.

The 2023 season was unexpectedly bad for the Mets. They finished their season with a 75-87 record and a winning percentage of .463. Unfortunately, after their season ended, an ongoing investigation by Major League Baseball is probing suspected improper utilization of the injured list during the 2023 season. Amidst the crisis and chaos, the team received another shocking blow on Thursday.

Mets’ General Manager Resigned Amid the Ongoing MLB Investigation

Major League Baseball has its own set of rules for every team, which teams must adhere to. However, in cases where a team somehow proves guilty, they suffer through punishments and penalties. That’s what’s currently happening with the Mets. Through an anonymous source, the MLB authorities got the news of the team’s improper use of their injury list. Based on that, MLB has started an investigation, wherein they plan to interview multiple Mets employees as part of the investigation.

As soon as the investigation decision was conveyed to the team, their GM Billy Eppler resigned. According to Jeff Passan, as the investigation is mainly based on his use of the so-called ‘phantom’ injured list, he has to answer the authority about “what the phantom IL is, why it’s used, and how common it actually is, free and unlocked.” Although Billy had yet to talk to the MLB officials, Billy was to cooperate in this probe.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Mets had 25 players hit the Injured List (IL) a total of 28 times this season, placing them at the 16th position in terms of IL usage among all MLB teams.

Interestingly, this step-down incident came just after David Sterns took over the responsibility of the team as President of Baseball Operations. In a statement released by Mets organization, Eppler said: “I wanted David to have a clean slate and that meant me stepping down. I hope for nothing but the best for the entire Mets organization.”

Eppler was the team’s GM for the last two seasons and even led the team to the postseason in 2022. Following his stepdown, Steve Cohen expressed to The NYP, “We accepted Billy’s resignation today as he decided it was in everyone’s best interest to fully hand over the leadership of baseball operations to David Stearns. On behalf of the Mets organization, we wish him all the best.”

Just 3 days before this move, the team’s manager was fired by the Mets organization. This prompts one to ponder, does the Mets’ management, much like the Yankees, at fault?

The New York Mets fired Buck Showalter

After a poor season, teams often look for the reasons of failure and make changes accordingly. The Mets also took a step forward on Sunday by firing their team manager, Buck Showalter. Just before the Mets game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Showalter announced he wouldn’t return next year. The team later confirmed the change.

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However, the owner defended the manager, saying the poor season was not Buck’s fault and he did what he was asked to do. With this firing, the team is looking for its fifth manager in the last six years.

Though things have been going south for the Mets now, it will probably open the door to a new era for them.

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