Source: Eppler a candidate for Angels GM
Yankees assistant GM was runner-up for position in '11
ANAHEIM -- Billy Eppler, the right-hand man for Yankees GM Brian Cashman, made a lasting impression with the Angels during their 2011 search for a general manager, so much so that they tried to bring him on as an assistant to the man who ultimately got the job, Jerry Dipoto.
He's going to factor in heavily once again.
Eppler is among the Angels' list of candidates for the their GM job, a source said, and several people inside and outside the organization view him as a potential frontrunner. The 40-year-old was a scout with the Rockies from 2000-04, then spent the next decade-plus with the Yankees, going from scouting director to assistant GM.
Angels owner Arte Moreno and president John Carpino are expected to accelerate their search for a new GM during this homestand. They have yet to conduct any face-to-face interviews with candidates outside their organization, but have reached out to some by phone.
Eppler, a San Diego native who attended the University of Connecticut, was the runner-up for the Angels job that went to Dipoto in 2011 and also for the Padres vacancy that went to A.J. Preller last offseason.
He's expected to land a GM job at some point.
"He checks all the boxes," Cashman, the Yankees' GM since 1998, said in a New York Daily News article from August 2014. "He's got the analytics side checked off, he's got the administrative side checked off and he's got the scouting side checked off. He's got the leadership side checked off because he's a great communicator."
Worth noting
• Right-hander Drew Rucinski and outfielder Alfredo Marte, designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for September callups, cleared waivers Friday and were outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake.
• Angels manager Mike Scioscia was answering a question about the GM search when another media member asked, "Are you applying?" "No," Scioscia said. "I'm applying to be the manager." Scioscia's contract runs through 2018.