Update: Yanks will give Padres permission to interview Eppler for GM job

June 26, 2014 by Mike Axisa 51 Comments

Thursday: The Yankees will indeed give the Padres permission to speak with Eppler about their GM opening, reports Jon Heyman. Teams usually won’t block an front office member from interviewing for a promotion like this, so this isn’t a surprise.

Wednesday: Via Ken Rose nthal: The Padres have required permission to interview Yankees assistant general manager Billy Eppler for their now open GM position. Josh Byrnes was fired over the weekend and Eppler, a San Diego native who started his career as a scout with the Padres, is one of several candidates for the job. Buster Olney says he will receive “serious consideration.”

Eppler joined the Yankees in 2004 and was the director of pro scouting from 2005-11 before being promoted to assistant GM. The promotion appeared to put him in line to take over for Brian Cashman whenever the time came. The Padres did not interview Eppler for their last GM opening during the 2009-10 offseason, though he did interview for the Angels’ job three years ago and was reportedly the runner-up to Jerry Dipoto. It’s only a matter of time before Eppler becomes a GM, either as Cashman’s successor or for another team.

PoopChute

Sounds good… I’ll drive him to the airport… The next GM should be from outside of the organization, we need a fresh set of eyes and new perspective running the team.
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  I look forward to Hal and Levine replacing Cashman with a figurehead GM they can walk all over.
  - JoeyA
    
    What’s truly stopping them now? His declared autonomy in 2005?
    
    Changes should have been made throughout organization after last year’s total organizational performance. Instead, nothing was done.
    
    I’m not for making moves just for the sake of it, but some level of change needs to occur. Development needs to be addressed and emphasized throughout this entire organization bc it’s been abysmal for years.
    - PoopChute
      
      Nothing was done?
      
      The Yanks fired the strength and conditioning coach… I’m still feeling the shock waves from that massive move.
      - Old Man Time
        
        How do you know what was or was not changed. You may not have seen a new name paraded about in the sports columns, but that doesn’t mean procedural or philosophical changes weren’t put place.
        
        Deep Thoughts
        
        Good luck arguing with all the Jack Welches in this forum. Punishment for bad results plus putting inexperienced plebes in a position to fail = LEADERSHIP
        
        Deep Thoughts
        
        Ugh, wrong place, and 4 hours late. No more posting after 7 5-hour ENERGYs.
        
        Jorge Steinbrenner
        
        Oof.
        
        Jorge Steinbrenner
        
        Not to mention working under someone apparently equals doing things exactly as they would if you were in charge.
    - The Great Gonzo
      
      Soooooooo, ‘SWEEPING CHANGES’ (read: move, trade fire kill maim and sodomize any and all Yankee personnel that JoeyA wants gone) would have included the movement of Cashman and replacement by a guy who is completely handcuffed to do anything for the same 200Million reasons Cashman is.
      
      And then, you woulda been the first guy to say “Cashman made this mess, he should have stayed to clean it up”…
      - RetroRob
        
        Not to mention, Eppler was interviewed for the high-profile Angels job, finishing second despite having no GM experience at that point; he’s a serious candidate for the Padres position; and most importantly, he appears to have won the internal battle of the Yankees front office to become the hand-picked candidate to succeed Cashman to run the New York Yankees. (You might have heard of them).
        
        He received very high marks when he was running the Yankees pro-scouting department, which under his watch was when the Yankees were making decisions to add the likes of Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia and Eric Chavez, etc. Yes, all the pickups that many here laughed at, only to watch them help them Yankees. That area seemed to become much less productive when he was no longer running it.
        
        MLB is a closed community, and within that community he clearly has a very good reputation. So, sure, let’s just let him leave so that the Yankees can then select from the losers of the Padres’ hunt for a GM to keep the likes of the JoeyA’s of the world happy. And, besides, the most likely scenario is D.O. getting the job. In other words, the loser of the original internal battle.
        
        Good plan.
        
        Deep Thoughts
        
        Headley for Eppler straight up. Get it done Cash.
        
        Jorge Steinbrenner
        
        Add Cashner and we’ll throw in Oppenheimer.
  - ron
    
    good. I look forward to more strategical moves that involve giving 3 year 12mil contacts to 8th inning guys.
    
    Old washed up, overpaid veterans ftw
    - Old Man Time
      
      Who is this 3/$12M 8th inning guy?
      - The Great Gonzo
        
        2 Matt Thornton guys, of course!
        
        Jorge Steinbrenner
        
        Matty-Matt Thornton-Thornton.
      - Steve (different one)
        
        Grant Balfour. Oh wait.
  - RetroRob
    
    …not to mention, if Eppler leaves, they’ll probably just turn to Damon Oppenheimer. I don’t see them going outside the organization at all.
  - Magic Juan
    
    isn’t that what they have now?
TWTR

I hope he gets the Padres job.
Old Man Time

Good. NY can pay him to be an embedded Yankee and trade all of SD’s useful pieces to NY.
- Mikhel
  
  I don’t know if the Padres will do the same thing thrice, it already happened to them with Joyer recommended by Theo (and a former President of the Padres and bosux part owner Larry Lucchino) in the bosux, and later replaced by Byrnes who was recommended by Hoyer when Hoyer went with Theo to the Cubs.
  - Mikhel
    
    *Joyer = meant to be J. Hoyer
vin

I’d hate to see him go, but being GM of a team – any team – is a prestigious position. This situation will give a pretty clear indication of Cashman’s future with the club. If the Yankees decline to give permission, then he’ll definitely be replacing Cashman soon.
Get Phelps Up

Wow, a good old Plank/Ted gem in the comments of linked to “Future of the Front Office” post.
The Great Gonzo

Meh… I would imagine the same people who scream Cashman Failed would be unhappy with Eppler as a replacement.
- The Great Gonzo
  
  and as I post this, I see my premonitions were correct, as mentioned above.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadgeek Roadgeek Adam

I still want Cashman as GM for at least the next 5 years personally. It just seems like there would be a hole without him there.
Derek Jeter

who cares
- BigDavey88
  
  Wasn’t aware I was reading a yahoo comment section.
  - Jorge Steinbrenner
    
    Ietc
Farewell Mo

Who the heck really knows whether he’s good at his job and if he’d make a good GM.

I do think the time has come for Cashman to move on though so if the Yankees think he’s the heir apparent, I’d rather he stay .
TheRealGreg

I want a guy who is in player personnel because that area is where baseball is. Drafting and developing talent.

As for Hal and Randy, winning leads to growing funds, losing leads to less funds.
- Jim Is A (Bored) Peckerhead
  
  Your first sentence is the most tautological statement dressed up to sound meaningful I’ve ever read.
Pinedamaybegreata (formerly Monterowasdinero)

Finally we have someone another organization wants!
- The Great Gonzo
  
  Eppler for Headley STR8 UP! Get it done, Cash… errr Epp!
RetroRob

He has a good reputation. I was looking forward to him taking over for Cashman this coming year, assuming Cash is kicked up to another position, so if they intend to keep him they might want to let him know their plans.

On the downside, I wonder how much autonomy he would have with Cashman still there, as well as Levine, and of course Hal. That’s the same problem any GM will face taking over, but could be worse from the outside.
- http://www.staggeringbeauty.com/ ALZ
  
  I would really like the ownership to step back. I would like change, but honestly I don’t know how much of the bad moves are really cash’s.
willie w

Billy may be a San Diego native but the San Diego that he grew up in doesn’t exist anymore, San Diego has been ruined by a few million people moving there since he was a kid. its just a big overgrown mess now.
to paraphrase from an eagles song, kiss paradise goodby
- RetroRob
  
  True, although it still might beat the Bronx in Billy’s eyes. : -)
  
  Yet, as Joe Girardi said about the prospect of “moving home” to Chicago when the Cubs were trying to get him to be their manager, he said New York had become more his home than Chicago over the years.
  
  The same may be true for Eppler. He’s been with the Yankees for a while, probably spending much time in New York and Tampa. San Diego may no longer have the same appeal. Plus, more importantly, he knows the Yankees, and he may rather be the GM of the New York Yankees than the San Diego Padres. That will depend, of course, on if the Yankees are planning to give him that job in very short order. If not, then he may be headed back to San Diego.
- 619Lifer
  
  Billy is a so cal kid to the bone, surfer and all. If San Diego is an overgrown mess, what do you call NYC?
  - http://www.staggeringbeauty.com/ ALZ
    
    NYC is an old overgrown mess. The modern development going down in the south is just awful. All the building for miles and miles look exactly the same. NYC at least has character.
  - willie w
    
    NYC is the BIG APPLE
    no other city like it
    
    not comparable to any other, except maybe Paris or San Francisco.
    
    I consider Los Angeles to be an armpit, not NYC
    
    I grew up in the Bronx, which I called the concrete jungle (in the 70’s)
    - Kosmo
      
      Paris, Amsterdam and the Bay Area.
      - I’m One
        
        Hong Kong, Tokyo.
        
        The Great Gonzo
        
        Scranton
http://www.staggeringbeauty.com/ ALZ

Honestly I think I would move on from Cashman at this time, and I had previously really defended him. The problem though is with the history it is hard to know which moves are his, and which were pushed on by ownership. They really do not know what is best for this team.
- Jim Is A (Bored) Peckerhead
  
  That problem isn’t going to go away with a new GM.
PunkPitch

And then there is Damon Oppenheimer – Dressed to the 9’s for his telephone interview with Walmart. GOOD LUCK DAMON!
tom

Good Luck, Eppler.