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This might become interesting. Lots of speculation. The only things known for sure seems to be that MLB is conducting an IL misuse Investigation and Eppler seems to have abruptly quit the moment the Mets were notified of the investigation.
MLB seems to have initiated the investigation after receiving a complaint. Its unknown who complained. There is speculation that the complainant might have been encouraged or put up to it, and speculation about by whom.
Supposedly, MLB is going to interview everyone. Players, staff, trainers, doctors. They want to find out who knew what. Who was complicit.
Some are wondering if the Mets blowing up the payroll structure could be a factor and some wondering if the investigation could branch out beyond the Mets.
In giving a rundown of what I found out there on the matter, I wanted to reference the existence of some conspiracy theory type speculation, since it is out there, but without harping or promoting any of it.
But, since you asked . . .
There is speculation that other orgs might want to dissuade the Mets from blowing up the market for Yamamoto and other high profile FAs. There is speculation that some orgs want MLB to crack down on a group of the most egregious misusers of the IL. There are even further out theories as might be expected.
What is the source of this speculation? I’ve read up on the Eppler situation and didn’t see anything like that.
My guess is that MLB doesn’t want any more dirty laundry than it has to, unless other teams have their own whistleblowers that would force them to respond.
If Cohen was unhappy with Eppler over the 2023 team, he would have fired him before the phantom IL matter went down. This article from NY gives more background but even the Post isn’t talking conspiracy.
https://nypost.com/2023/10/06/mlbs-investigation-into-billy-eppler-what-we-know/
P.S. I cannot see what this has to do with the Mets and the upcoming free agent market. The likely outcome of an investigation would be suspensions and fines. It ain’t going to stop Cohen from spending his money.
Ok, but blogger speculation and social media talk are very different from legitimate reporting and it should be identified as such.
, but blogger speculation and social media talk are very different from legitimate reporting and it should be identified as such.
It’s not The Sporting News we are reading anymore. We have to evaluate the source of what we read these days. And even “reliable” sources are unreliable if they are being used to spread false information that helps their sources agenda. Very little of it is fact. I need to remind myself of this as well.
We can see what develops out of this while we are seeing what develops out of the baseball operations and player development makeover which is prioritized equal to rebuilding the pitching staff.
Even if the Mets were found guilty of IL manipulation I don’t understand what that would have to do with their future payrolls. Are these clandestine bloggers suggesting that MLB will put the Mets on a salary cap as punishment? I guess anything is possible but that seems unlikely to me. I am not connecting the dots between the two issues.
Todd Zeile is now an analyst for the Mets on SNY, the cable sports channel in NYC. He thinks there is ‘nuance’ to this situation that is yet to be public. He states two reasons for thinking that. First is that roster manipulation using the DL/IL has been going on since his playing days at least, and it is unusual for there to be an investigation and for it to go public from the start. Second, IL misuse is nothing unheard of and the existence of an investigation alone doesn’t explain the sudden and immediate exit of Eppler.
The difference in this case from business as usual could be the existence of the whistleblower, who it is assumed has proof of misdeeds. This individual may have forced MLB’s hand to take action by tipping off the media.
In all these years of history, did anyone complain on the record? I am guessing not.
The Mets quickly began damage control by forcing out the guy who had been in charge, whose responsibility going forward, by the way, had already been marginalized. He had already assembled the highest payroll bust team in MLB history, so it isn’t like he was on firm ground.
This is just as much speculation as what Zeile said, but is at least as likely. IMO, it is more likely, but we will see.
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