On Friday, Nov. 19, the Mets introduced Billy Eppler as their 16th general manager in franchise history.
Eppler was joined by Mets owner Steve Cohen and Sandy Alderson over zoom and this hierarchy signaled one thing moving forward: the organization is ready to spend big this winter to contend in 2022.
"As far as our approach for this offseason, we want to tackle the free agent market as well as the trade market," Eppler told reporters. "We want to look for opportunities. In my dialogue with Steve and Sandy, it's evident that we're going to have some resources behind us. So I don't think anything eliminates itself at the outset here."
While Eppler referenced the trade market as a way the Mets can fill some of their holes, he revealed that they do not plan on parting ways with any of their top prospects. This means the majority of their assets will be allocated towards building next season's roster through the free agent market.
“Ultimately, there’s some strength in this farm system," Eppler said. "As I looked at it, there are a number of guys that are Top 100 prospects, but we don’t want to move them. In the conversations with Steve (Cohen) and getting a sense of understanding our resources we’ll be able to take a little bit of bigger swings in free agency like I alluded to at the start, I don’t think anything is ruled out."
And Cohen, who is the one that signs the checks, backed up this sentiment as well. The team's blueprint is centered around signing players in free agency.
"Our budget today without even signing anybody is already at $185 million or so, and if we're going to find the right type of talent, it's either going to be trades with other clubs or free agents," said Cohen. "We don’t really have a lot in our farm system to supplement what we need. It's going to require spending.
"That’s what's going to happen. I've let Billy know that I'm willing to for the right deals and right free agents to go get the players we need. We want to be competitive. We want to win our division and be in the playoffs and get deep into the playoffs. We've got to field a team that has the ability to do that. I've let Billy and Sandy know that it's whatever they need, and I'm open to their suggestions and recommendations. The goal is to put a very competitive team on the field."
Luckily, Eppler hasn't unplugged from his GM colleagues and already had some agents reach out to him. He intends on engaging with them this afternoon to get the ball rolling on addressing the roster, where they will be "aggressive" in their pursuit.
The Mets have a number of areas which they must address this winter. But the elephant in the room is their lack of pitching depth, which Eppler says he will prioritize this offseason.
"I look at the roster and I definitely want to address the pitching," Eppler said. "We've had a player recently sign somewhere else in Noah [Syndergaard], and I just really want to reinforce the overall depth.
"We're also going to entertain things in the outfield and infield, but shortly after this call, I'm going to connect with the senior baseball operations group and I want to hear from them, like what they think and what ideas they have and hit the ground running this afternoon."
It is no secret that a number of Mets' hitters underperformed last season. And Eppler is very much aware of this aspect, which is why they must properly evaluate the true driving factors behind this occurrence.
"The process that we’ll look at when evaluating our offense is, what are the underlying process metrics that are kind of driving our performance? Was there an element of unluckiness? Do we expect that the numbers on the back of the baseball card are the real numbers that we would expect from that player to contribute? There’s an element, or I guess a framework, for players that I tend to gravitate to, and I don’t think this is really that unique or proprietary because it’s become kind of mainstay in baseball.
"Just to get a little bit more granular on that: Looking for players that are really good decision-makers in the batter’s box. They understand their swing decisions and if a ball is over the white, that they’re ready to attack it. A little bit more of a patient but aggressive approach at the same time. Obviously, as far as team-building is concerned in general, we’re just going to try to really grow the run differential of the club as much as we can."
Eppler will also need to hire a manager, which he revealed will be a collaborative effort between ownership, Alderson and the baseball ops department.
"I have a little bit of my own feeling about that, but I'd rather hold back on giving exactly what that criteria is in this moment in time because I want to have the group engaged and get a sense for, do you value for example tactical in-game management as your primary criteria, your primary element? Do you value analytics, and analytical in-game probabilistic thinking as your number one criteria? Or ability to connect with the media and fan base, obviously that's critical. And clubhouse culture.
"So all of these things. Do you want somebody that coached in the minor leagues for example. So I want to make sure I collect all of the thoughts from everybody, set forth what that criteria looks like, and then at that point, start to develop a candidate list."
While the Mets are clearly in need of a culture change, Eppler says they can improve that by bringing in the right manager and players who bring a winning mindset.
In the end, the Mets' GM search took over a month, but Eppler was the only candidate to receive an offer from the team. And Cohen is happy that they landed on Eppler and already received universal praise about their new GM at owners meetings in Chicago earlier in the week.
Although Eppler will still answer to Alderson, the 46-year-old will be the driving force in the baseball operations department. From there, Eppler will have a chance to gain more latitude in his role and if he performs well, the Mets may not even go after a president of baseball ops next year.
After spending a decade with the Yankees, Eppler is excited to get back to New York, which he described as a "magical place." He is also amped to connect with the rabid and passionate Mets fanbase as well.
"I'm tremendously excited to be here and to be a part of the Mets organization," said Eppler. "I’d like to thank Steve and Alex Cohen for giving me this opportunity and for the conversations as we went through this process, it was evident every step of the way that they're committed to building a championship caliber organization from top to bottom.
"I would also like to thank Sandy for your guidance and support during the process, and know that I'm excited to be able to work alongside you. Getting a chance to position myself with someone of your resume and baseball acumen is something I look forward to."
Eppler was the GM of the Los Angeles Angels from 2016-2020. Prior to this gig, he was the Yankees' scouting director from 2005-2011 before being promoted to assistant GM to Brian Cashman.
Eppler credits Cashman for teaching him a lot and is grateful for his mentorship, which is something he has taken with him throughout his career.
After joining WME agency to head out their baseball division in September, he will now get a shot at redemption as a GM to prove he has learned from his past mistakes during his time with the Angels, where the team failed to make the postseason throughout his tenure.
"We really want to center our framework here around maximizing our cumulative World Series odds over a long-term horizon," said Eppler. "So, what that means is like a great team maybe starts the year with a 15-16% chance of winning the World Series. I’m talking like the best team. Maybe there’s some different teams that are going to be at around a 10-12% chance.
"If we make our decisions in service of maximizing and building those odds, and we build that over this several year time horizon, then we create sustainability. And then the free agent spending can be born more out of opportunity than necessity."
According to Eppler, it all boils down to avoiding impulsive short-term moves in order to increase their long-term chances of winning a championship. But right now, they just need to focus on making the right decisions.
Billy Eppler's Mets Plan On Spending Big In Free Agency To Contend In 2022 - Sports Illustrated
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