A couple of Mets players wonder why Billy Eppler was singled out for using the Phantom Illjured List:

Tommy Hunter, who pitched for the Mets from 2021-23, which included two years under Eppler’s tenure, said his old boss did not do anything much different than other GMs he played for.

NYPost.com

MLB sent a message here. They know that GMs use the IL improperly, and I suspect that improper use grew over time to the point that the game needs to rein in the practice. The league picked a high profile target, the GM of a New York team, to send a message to the rest of the league.

I also suspect that Eppler received just one year because he talked. MLB probably obtained a much better picture of the mechanisms GM use to fake the injuries, so the league can be better prepared to spot these in the future.

A reminder that in any type of transaction, the optimum amount of fraud is not zero. Stopping fraud requires adding friction to transactions, and two much friction can bring the process to a halt, or at least make the process so costly as to be inefficient. It looks like MLB is trying to keep the friction low by issuing a serious warning.