Mets Monday Morning GM: 5 worst moves and decisions Billy Eppler made

4) Everything about the DH situation

We've only recently learned of how Daniel Vogelbach was essentially forced onto Buck Showalter (not literally). It was Eppler trying to save whatever he could from his 2022 trade deadline faux pas. Vogelbach was the only remaining piece from that disastrous stretch. Even after the trade deadline, Eppler felt the need to make sure he was the DH on a regular enough basis to cause Showalter some grief.

The Vogelbach trade was bad. Far worse was keeping him. Worst of all was not getting rid of him.

Vogelbach is one cog in this Eppler mistake, though. In the two years he was general manager, the DH was a disaster.

In 2022, it began with a mix of Dominic Smith, J.D. Davis, and Robinson Cano. Some of the regular position players mixed in there as well. When Smith started, he'd often grab a glove to play first base. It allowed Pete Alonso to DH and take a half-day. It was a good strategy.

Eppler quickly pivoted away from the plethora of DH options and decided a platoon with Vogelbach as the headliner made more sense. It was a quick fix in 2022. Throughout 2023, it exhausted Mets fans to see it continually implemented. The Mets should have leaned away from this same plan when they saw it not working this past season. Nope.

Every DH decision seemed to backfire. Something as simple as not trying out the hot-hitting prospects in the role everyday stained his reputation. This is the perfect segue to another constant mistake of Eppler’s. Does the guy even like the prospects?