Glen

At first glance it's an obvious no. But when you think about it for a couple of minutes... it's still a no. 
Rendon is a really good player. He's not one of these guys with one or two great years scattered amongst average ones. He's been a 4-7 bWAR guy 5 of the last 6 years, the only exception being 2015, when he suffered two injuries and played only 80 games. It's going to be fun having him next to Trout in the lineup.

Manfred: Trout needs to be an ambassador and a leader. 
Trout: Speaks out against Houston.
Manfred: no not like that

It’s entirely possible that Eppler went to Arte and said he had the pieces to swing a trade for Pederson and Stripling now, or he could wait and pull the trigger - maybe using some of the same pieces later in the year - for a frontline arm. 
Could be Eppler was fine proceeding either way and wanted the boss to weigh in and be the swing vote, or wanted to check in on how a trade now or midseason could affect the payroll and money he has to work with. Eppler knows his job is on the line, why not tap into the guy who will decide his fate for his thoughts if Eppler is comfortable with either decision?
Everything doesn’t have to be a conspiracy or a sign of drama. 

Claude, he read one of your posts!

In a vacuum, Eppler had a fairly shit off season last year.  Granted, he didn't damage the future of the team but if I'm the guy writing the checks, I'm probably not very happy about my GM essentially pissing away about 50m in payroll last year.  And by pissing it away, I mean literally getting absolutely nothing for that.  Plus, the guys he chose as manager and pitching coach got replaced after 1yr.  And this year it took your 2019 first round draft pick to offload another bad contract.  
Body of work is why Billy is still here but at some point, that has to translate to wins at the major league level and the money spent on that has to be put to good use.  Every GM has financial/eval missteps like the occasional Valbuena, Espinosa, or Nolasco.  
I am sure Arte is excited about guys like Adell and Marsh as well as the rest of the rebuilt farm system and how the team has some financial ability to add without causing too much pain but I can totally see how he's looking for some payoff for his investment at the major league level.  
I don't know how the discussions go, but is it such that Eppler opts for guys like Teheran and Bundy over multi-year commitments to Keuchel or Ryu that Arte is willing to make?
Those are very important decisions 
All the infrastructure and foundation level improvements are not lost on me but at some point, it needs to show up at the major league level.  The team as constructed should be good for about 85+ wins.  If poor performance leads to fewer than that, then maybe it is time to re-evaluate whether Billy is the right guy for the job.  

What if Eppler doesn't want to come back?

What if Eppler doesn't want to come back?

After Arte controlled the offseason and nixed one of his trades by pulling rank. “Win, but do it only with the players I allow you to have.” This feels hollow to me. 

Puig...

I prefer Dinelson Rejoice.
 
Yeah, I know.

[Insert Tommy John surgery joke here]
 
 
 
[Insert Lt Dan sad face .gif here]

I prefer Dylan Desist

I prefer Austin Neither

I cannot vote in this poll, because whichever pitcher I vote for would need TJ surgery after the first month.

I wish there was some sort of coach that could help a guy through problems like that during the season.  

Or as it's often called, Tommy John surgery for the leg.

Or as it's often called, Tommy John surgery for the leg.

Or as it's often called, Tommy John surgery for the leg.

Or as it's often called, Tommy John surgery for the leg.