Mets have no timeline to replace outgoing general manager Billy Eppler

In a surprising turn of events on Thursday, Mets general manager Billy Eppler resigned from his role. He was initially expected to stay on as GM and work underneath new president of baseball operations David Stearns, who was officially introduced earlier in the week. However, Eppler reportedly stepped down so as not to be a distraction amidst an investigation into his improper use of the injured list, per Mike Puma, Joel Sherman, Jon Heyman and Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post.

After a massively disappointing finish in 2023, the Mets have their work cut out for them this offseason, but as Andy Martino reports for SNY, the team isn’t in any hurry to find Eppler’s replacement. They plan to hire a new GM eventually, but with Stearns already in place to lead the front office, the Mets have not yet set a timeline for that particular task. In this day and age, having a separate GM and president of baseball operations is hardly a necessity. Several teams have one executive working both roles, including Alex Anthopoulos of the Braves, Mike Rizzo of the Nationals and A.J. Preller of the Padres.

Presumably, the Mets are prioritizing the search for a new manager; it would be helpful to have a replacement for Buck Showalter by the Winter Meetings in December. Perhaps they’d also like to wait until the investigation into Eppler has wrapped up. It stands to reason they’d like to properly close the book on one GM before hiring another. By the time that’s complete and a new skipper is in place, Stearns might prefer to focus on improving the roster for 2024 and beyond, saving the task of finding a new general manager for a later date.