Mets' Billy Eppler messaged MLB official about Joe Musgrove before substance check

MLB insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post has provided some additional information about New York Mets manager Buck Showalter asking for San Diego Padres starter Joe Musgrove to be checked for illegal substances in the final game of the wild-card playoff series that the Mets lost on Oct. 9. 

"Sources say Mets general manager Billy Eppler messaged a league official about what was going on in Game 3 of the wild-card round after receiving several messages to his phone," Heyman reported for a piece published Friday. "Eppler made his contact earlier in the game, before Showalter approached the umpire, but a team source suggested it was more inquiry than complaint at that point." 

Nothing foreign was found, and the Padres notched a relatively easy 6-0 win to advance in the postseason tournament. 

After the game, AJ Cassavell of the MLB website explained that Musgrove’s spin rate was higher than what he registered during the regular season and also that the 29-year-old had increased his average fastball velocity from 92.9 mph during regular-season play to 94 mph that night at Citi Field. 

"A team source added that Musgrove's spin rates — which were already high — continued to increase after the check uncovered nothing, only adding to the Mets' suspicion," Heyman continued. "The Mets were both amazed and alarmed at Musgrove’s breaking stuff."

After the loss, Showalter and shortstop Francisco Lindor publicly defended the substance-check request. Lindor also admitted at that time that Musgrove "flat-out beat us." 

For those wondering, the Mets and Padres begin a springtime series in New York on April 10, 2023.