Latest Offseason Rumors Point to 'Strong Candidate' for Mets GM Opening

The 2021 MLB season has been wrapped up and in the books for nearly two weeks now and the New York Mets still don't have a new general manager. However, the latest rumor circling around is that they could be closing in on a decision soon.

According to MLB insider Andy Martino, the Mets dug around former Los Angeles Angels GM Billy Eppler and view him as a "strong candidate" for the job.

The Mets increased their digging on Billy Eppler late last week and he is seen as a strong candidate, according to league sources.
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) November 15, 2021

New York Mets Rumors

Eppler was fired from the Angels organization following the 2020 MLB season. While he spent a total of five seasons with the club, Los Angeles never made the playoffs during his tenure with 80-82 being the club's best record during the stretch.

Nevertheless, Eppler played a key role in recruiting players like 2021 AL MVP finalist Shohei Ohtani, Andrelton Simmons and Anthony Rendon to the organization. If the Mets believe that he can bring that sort of talent to New York, it isn't surprising that they like him as a candidate.

Overall, 2021 was a disappointing season for the Mets. Hopes were high after making offseason moves like trading for Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco, however, an injury-riddled campaign caused New York to go 77-85 and miss the playoffs for the fifth straight year.

All Mets fans can do is wait to see who's decided to lead the team into the next era. Another rumored GM candidate is former Washington Nationals assistant general manager Adam Cromie, but that hasn't progressed recently, according to Martino.

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Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.