Former New York Mets GM Billy Eppler suspended through 2024 World Series for fabricating injuries

Former New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler has been suspended through the 2024 World Series by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred due to violating the league's injured list rules, the league announced on Friday.

Eppler, who resigned as Mets GM at the end of the 2023 season, is being punished for "improper use of Injured List placements, including the deliberate fabrication of injuries; and the associated submission of documentation for the purposes of securing multiple improper Injured List placements during the 2022 and 2023 seasons," according to MLB.

The league, which did not provide specific examples of Eppler's actions, spent four months investigating the issue and interviewed over three dozen people. They found that Eppler, who was cooperative, was not influenced by Mets ownership. No other team executives were mentioned in Manfred's findings.

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Eppler was hired as Mets GM in Nov. 2021 and resigned the day after the investigation was made public and three days after David Stearns was brought on as the team's president of baseball operations.

"The Mets have been informed of the conclusion of Major League Baseball's investigation," the Mets said in a statement. "With Billy Eppler's resignation on October 5, 2023, and with David Stearns leading the Baseball Operations team, the Mets consider the matter closed and will have no further comment."

Eppler is ineligible to work for an MLB team or the league for the entire 2024 season unless Manfred chooses to reinstate him prior to the end of the World Series.

The Mets have not hired a new general manager since Eppler's resignation.