Mets Monday Morning GM: 3 decisions defining Billy Eppler’s tenure so far

2) NY Mets GM Billy Eppler’s tenure has been defined by a horrible 2022 trade deadline

Has there ever been a movie so bad it ended up getting a sequel that was much better? The original Evil Dead franchise is all I can come up with and even the first from that series wasn’t an equivalent comparison to what happened at the 2022 trade deadline for the Mets.

Eppler swung and missed on every deal the Mets made. The Daniel Vogelbach for Colin Holderman deal was the best one and that’s aging like Dorian Gray after seeing the portrait his kid made of his daddy in art class.

The Darin Ruf trade remains the ultimate bust of a trade made by Eppler. Both for how much they gave up and the little return they got from him on the field, it’s the kind of move we’ll always think of immediately whenever we think of his name.

The Mets had a few other misses as well. Mychal Givens barely givin’ them anything. Tyler Naquin played like his ancestors changed their last name from Nyquil at some point.

Luckily for Eppler, he gets another shot this summer. He can completely change the narrative by making effective moves. So far, his best trade has probably been the one for Chris Bassitt. That came before the Mets even played a game with him as a general manager. And because of the way he fizzled in the end then left in free agency, it won’t go down as much of a plus in defining Eppler’s tenure.