Billy Eppler

Billy Eppler

• School University of Connecticut
• High School University of San Diego High School

• Born September 16, 1975 in San Diego, CA USA

Biographical Information

Billy Eppler worked in the Colorado Rockies scouting department from 2000-2004, signing Ryan Spilborghs. He moved to the New York Yankees in November 2004 as Assistant Director of Baseball Operations. He was the Yankees' Director of Professional Scouting from 2006-2009 and Senior Director of Professional Personnel from 2010-2011 before becoming an assistant GM under Brian Cashman.

On October 4, 2015, Eppler was named General Manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, replacing Bill Stoneman who had occupied the position on an interim basis since July. He had been a finalist for the same job in 2011, when the Angels had instead hired Jerry Dipoto. He was joining an organization with high expectations, after the team had missed the postseason by a single game in spite of owner Arte Moreno's profligate spending. He also knew he had little margin of maneuver concerning manager Mike Scioscia, whose return for a 17th season in 2016 had just been confirmed: Dipoto's early departure came about because he had lost a power struggle with the long-time manager. Having worked for the Yankees all those, years, he explained that he was used to pressure and high expectations.

Eppler was particularly active in the off-season following the 2017 season. He signed the most-prized free agent of the off-season, Japanese P/DH Shohei Ohtani, then followed that by orchestrating a trade to acquire 2B Ian Kinsler and signed Zack Cozart to play third base, all in an eight-day span. But for all the activity, and in spite of having the best player in the game in Mike Trout in the middle of the line-up, the Angels were unable to escape the muddle of playing around .500 ball, far from the upper reaches of their division. The Angels brought on Joe Maddon to manage the team and signed top free agent Anthony Rendon before the 2020 season, but even when the postseason was expanded to eight teams from each league because of the coronavirus pandemic, they still failed to contend for one of those extra slots. The writing was on the wall for Eppler and he was fired on the season's last day, September 27th.

He bounced back a year later when the New York Mets hired him for their GM job on November 18, 2021. This came after a tumultuous year during which a change of ownership had brought Brodie Van Wagenen's controversial tenure to an end, then his successor Jared Porter only lasted a few weeks before accusations of sexual misconduct forced him to resign, and another successor, interim GM Zack Scott was caught asleep at the wheel of his car under the influence after a function hosted by owner Steven Cohen. The arrival of a seasoned baseball man like Eppler was hopefully a sign that the future would be less of a soap opera. However, it wasn't to be: after a successful season in 2022 when the Mets won 100 games but made an early postseason exit, a wave of spending on free agents before the 2023 season failed to bear fruits as the team regressed significantly, missing the postseason by a long shot. As the season wound down, Cohen hired David Stearns to serve as team president, then fired manager Buck Showalter on the last day of the season. Eppler then handed in his resignation on October 5th, understanding that he was not Stearns' man. Two days later, news emerged that there may have been more to his leaving than originally thought, as he was rumored to be under investigation by MLB for improper use of the injured list.

Preceded by Bill Stoneman

Los Angeles Angels General Manager 2015-2020

Succeeded by Perry Minasian

Preceded by Zack Scott

New York Mets General Manager 2021-2023

Succeeded by tba

Source: 2012 Yankees Media Guide

Further Reading

• Ronald Blum (The Associated Press): "Billy Eppler resigns as Mets GM, and is under investigation by MLB, according to AP source", Yahoo! Sports, October 5, 2023. [1]
• Anthony DiComo: "Mets make Eppler new GM on 4-year deal", mlb.com, November 18, 2021. [2]
• Alden Gonzalez: "Eppler 'committed to championship standards': Angels' new GM says he believes in working with current personnel", mlb.com, October 5, 2015. [3]
• Matt Monagan: "New Mets GM may be a softball fanatic: Billy Eppler apparently shows up at local parks looking to shag some flies", mlb.com, December 8, 2021. [4]
• Lorenzo Reyes: "Los Angeles Angels fire GM Billy Eppler after five seasons with the team", USA Today, September 27, 2020. [5]
• Phil Rogers: "Angels' stacked lineup a credit to Eppler's skill: Halos' GM fortifies roster by landing Ohtani, Kinsler and Cozart in 8-day span", mlb.com, December 15, 2017. [6]

Related Sites

• Associated Press story on his appointment as Angels GM