Angels reportedly pick Yankees’ Eppler as GM

Dipoto, after losing a power struggle with manager Mike Scioscia, stepped down as Angels GM in early July and was replaced in Anaheim by Bill Stoneman on an interim basis. If you’ve been paying attention to the business side of baseball over the last month, you’d see that, with so many GM jobs open, this news was completely inevitable. Eppler, who is now the Assistant General Manager for the Yankees, first interviewed for the Angels opening back in 2011, where he was one of the finalists before Jerry DiPoto was hired.

As soon as the Angels’ plane arrived from Texas after their season-ending loss to the Rangers on Sunday, they officially announced their long-rumored selection, Billy Eppler, as their new general manager.

Eppler is expected to stay with the Yankees until their playoff run is complete.

Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com had the scoop yesterday. The Seattle Mariners hired him to fill the same role last week. In the end, Billy’s experience in the areas of scouting, player development and major-league operations, in addition to his organizational and communication skills, were primary reasons for our decision. Before he was named to his position as assistant general manager, Eppler was lauded for his use of analytics in scouting, which could pave the way for Michael Fishman to become the newest executive in the team’s hierarchy.

“I can not adequately express how excited I am for the opportunity Arte Moreno and the Angels have given me”, Eppler added. “We look forward to him joining the organization and making his impact felt in short order”. “The Angels are committed to championship standards”.

In a statement, Eppler thanked Moreno and said he looks forward to a “collaborative effort as we look to enhance and advance every phase of the baseball operations department”.