Ex-New York Mets' President Admits He Wasn't a Fan of Former GM Billy Eppler

This ex-New York Mets president acknowledged that he didn't like former general manager Billy Eppler.

Dec 19, 2022; NY, NY, USA; New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler introduces pitcher Kodai Senga / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

It is evident that former New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler had at least one enemy in a high place in the organization during his tenure in Queens.

Ex-Mets team president Sandy Alderson told Jon Heyman of Joel Sherman of The New York Post that he wasn't a fan of Eppler, who resigned from his position as GM, and suspended by MLB for a year, for manipulating the injured list during his time as top baseball decision maker in Queens.

Regardless of Alderson's disdain for Eppler, who served as GM of the Mets from November 2021 to October 2023, the longtime executive says he was not the anonymous member of the organization that sold Eppler out to the league office for violating the rules, despite not being in agreement with his behavior.

“Was I a big fan of Billy’s? No, but that’s separate apart from anything else,” Alderson told Heyman and Sherman on The Post's Baseball Podcast The Show. “As far as I’m concerned, I don’t think Major League Baseball ever determined who wrote the letter. And there were things in that letter that I was unaware of. So the short answer is no.”

Alderson joined "The Show" to talk phantom IL here. Whether he sent letter to MLB that led to Eppler's ouster. What kind of owner Steve Cohen is. Jon and I on Mets/Yankees at quarter mark. YouTube: https://t.co/DgrPWCUrQY Apple: https://t.co/uc5eouIXr0: https://t.co/bN4NhrNJWe pic.twitter.com/BTA8SUi32M

— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) May 14, 2024

Alderson went on to reiterate how telling on Eppler was not a route he wanted to pursue even though he has many league office connections that span across the past 30 years.

“If I had wanted to communicate with the commissioner’s office, I would have communicated directly to Dan Halem, the commissioner, people I’ve known for 20 or 30 years,” Alderson said. “From my standpoint, I thought that issue was behind the Mets, behind us and had no reason whatsoever to write such a letter. But anybody that knows me knows that’s not the avenue I would have pursued.”

Alderson served as GM of the Mets from 2011-2018 and helped lead the team to a World Series appearance in 2015 and Wild Card berth in 2016.

Steve Cohen purchased the Mets in the fall of 2020 and brought Alderson back to the organization with him to serve as team president. Alderson helped Cohen hire Eppler as GM prior to the 2022 season.

Alderson's son, Bryn, was one of three assistant GMs under Eppler, but parted ways with the Mets before the 2023 season. It is unknown whether this affected Eppler's relationship with Sandy.

Alderson stepped down as president in September 2022, but was still involved with the Mets last year. He also told The Post that he was aware of Eppler's misuse of the IL and stepped in to stop it at times.