NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- Over a month after the Mets' 2021 season came to a close, the Mets finally have their new general manager.
The team announced Thursday that it has hired Billy Eppler to become its 16th GM on a four-year deal.
Eppler, 46, was last the GM of the Los Angeles Angels and worked with the New York Yankees from 2004-2015.
“Billy has the experience, character, and respect of the baseball community that will allow him to attract the players and front office talent to lead the Mets forward,” team owner Steven Cohen said.
A University of Connecticut graduate, Eppler led the front office of the Angels when the team signed 2021 American League MVP Shohei Ohtani in 2017. But during Eppler’s tenure, the team never made the playoffs, and was let go in 2020.
“I’m so thankful to Steve and Sandy [Alderson] for what I consider an opportunity of a lifetime,” said Eppler. “We have a lot of work to do and will systematically begin to work toward out goal of building a perennial winner.”
The Mets face a pivotal offseason, which will include hiring a brand new manager after the team let go of Luis Rojas after two seasons. Rojas recently signed on to become the Yankees’ third base coach.
The search took quite awhile, after numerous reports documented the struggles of the team to lock in its top candidates, either due to lack of interest from the person, or not being allowed to interview by their current team.
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