Mets GM Billy Eppler 'Open to Any Opportunity' Ahead of 2023 MLB Trade Deadline

A key player at this year's MLB trade deadline on Aug. 1, the New York Mets and general manager Billy Eppler is open for business, one way or the other, according to SNY's Phillip Martinez.

Following a very disappointing first half to the season, the Mets seemed to be in prime position to be sellers this season but a bit of improved form going into the All-Star break has Eppler ready for anything that may arise over the next several weeks.

"I'll be open to any opportunity," Eppler said. "We'll talk through it as a group and look for an avenue to continue to either add talent to the organization, whether it's short-term or long-term, we have to evaluate it all."

Despite having the largest payroll in all of MLB, north of $348 million, the Mets have been a far-cry from the team that won 101 games in 2022 and an even further cry from being a contender over the first half of the season.

They were 10 games under .500 as recently as June 30 in what was looking to be a catastrophic season.

At that point, things were going so bad that team owner Steve Cohen even threatened the team with a deadline sell-off if New York didn't get back in contention soon.

"All is not lost yet, but it's getting late," Cohen said back on June 28th with the Mets in fourth place in the NL East. "I'm preparing my management team for all possibilities. If we don't get better, we have decisions to make at the trade deadline, and that's not my preferred end result but I'm preparing all contingencies."

While the Mets are still fourth in the division, they did show some good improvement leading into the All-Star break, going on a 6-3 run, which included a six-game winning streak. It showed some of the flashes from last year's squad although it wasn't completely there.

And Eppler was glad to see some life.

"It was nice to see us play well," Eppler said. "It was good to see in Arizona and the first game in San Diego. There's more work to do, no doubt."

Eppler also revealed that some preliminary talks with other teams have begun, nothing too serious or specific yet, just scoping out the landscape and seeing what's out there in general.

While fans may expect the organization to try and juice everything it can out of this current roster with its plethora of high-paid superstars, with the oldest roster in all of MLB, it may be wise to look towards the future if they aren't going to get themselves any closer to contending this season.

The Mets are currently 42-48, 18.5 games behind the first-place Braves and seven games out of a Wild Card slot.