Former Mets GM Billy Eppler suspended for one season over fabricated injuries

Major League Baseball suspended former New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler for one season for violation of league rules, including the fabrication of injuries and improper use of the injured list to create open roster spots, the league announced Friday.

The league said through its Department of Investigations that it interviewed more than three dozen people and reviewed documents and electronic records and added that the Mets and Eppler cooperated with the investigation. It now considers the inquiry closed.

Eppler's placement on the Ineligible List is effective immediately for directing "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."

MLB said Eppler acted on his own and was not directed to violate rules by team ownership.

Eppler can come off the Ineligible List after the 2024 World Series. He could be reinstated earlier but that's at the discretion of commissioner Rob Manfred.

HOT STOVE UPDATES: MLB free agency: Ranking and tracking the top players available.

Eppler, 48, was the Mets general manager from November 2021 until last October, when he quit the day the investigation was made public.

"The Mets have been informed of the conclusion of Major League Baseball’s investigation. 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," the Mets said in a statement.