11
2013
Hefner Ready To Go If Santana Lands On DL
An article by 
Do not read into Zack Wheeler’s demotion that the Mets think Jenrry Mejia will replace Johan Santana on the roster and in the rotation.
When I asked Terry Collins of his preparation plans for life without Santana to start the season, the name Jeremy Hefner was only one to pop out. And, without hesitation.
Collin McHugh, who was also demoted to the minor league camp, made spot starts last year and could be in position again if something were to develop with Hefner.Mejia’s development this spring was hindered when he reported late because of a visa issue and was further delayed with the thyroid ailment. He is scheduled to open the season at Triple-A Las Vegas.
Pitchers start at two innings or 30 pitches and like to work up to seven innings and 100 pitches. There’s no way Mejia can build himself up to that with the time remaining in camp.
Mejia was on the travel squad this morning to Lakeland, where the Mets will play the Tigers again.
The Mets set back Mejia’s career when they rushed him to the majors as a reliever – there was no set relief role – then optioned him back to the minors as a starter at which time he injured his elbow and needed Tommy John surgery.
As for Hefner, in a piece Joe D wrote a few weeks ago, it looked as though the young righthander was up for the challenge:
“First and foremost, I want Johan to be healthy,” Hefner said. “He’s a leader of this team. If something happens and he’s not able to go, then obviously that would maybe fall on my shoulders. I’m going to prepare to go out and give it my best whenever my name’s called.”
Joe called Hefner one of the more underrated players on the pitching staff last season, “he did a decent job filling various roles for the Mets out of the bullpen and as a spot starter,” he said. “Hefner showed enough to warrant a long look this spring for a similar role as the sixth man in the rotation.”
Hefner has a 2.61 ERA in 10.1 innings pitched this spring with eight strikeouts and only one walk allowed, and batters are hitting just .189 against him.
About the Author: John Delcos
I am an active member of the BBWAA and have covered Major League Baseball in several capacities for over 20 years, including ten in New York working the Mets' and Yankees' beat. I covered the Baltimore Orioles for eight years and the Cleveland Indians before that. I currently serve as an editor and senior staff writer for Mets Merized Online. Follow me on Twitter @jdelcos.
16 Comments + Add Comment
Recent Comments
- oleosmirf: on Mets and Braves Suspended After Eight Tied 5-5, Will Resume Play Saturday: Just because they all seem to dislike...
- oleosmirf: on Scout Says No Way Flores Can Play Any Position But First Base: I watched Flores play 2B in spring...
- Hawk: on Mets and Braves Suspended After Eight Tied 5-5, Will Resume Play Saturday: Please send Tejada down with Ike.
- Dave Willins: on Mets and Braves Suspended After Eight Tied 5-5, Will Resume Play Saturday: Enough of TC bungling already. Let's please...
- Heybatter: on Mets and Braves Suspended After Eight Tied 5-5, Will Resume Play Saturday: Rice will have to......Edgin pitched one inning...
Need Tickets To The Mets Game?
Check Out These Great MLB Links!
Photographs From Gordon Donovan
5393 Fans Follow Us On Twitter!
1269 Fans Like Us On Facebook!
2341 Fans Read Our Feed!
1702 Fans Subscribe via Daily Email!
Ok, so, should i change my prediction since this guy will be starting for the mets? from 65 wins, i might say 60 is the ladder.
Now we are bordering on absurdity.
I understand your hatred and anger yet try to be somewhat realistic. Houston won 55 games last year so you are saying the 2013 Mets will only be 5 games better than them. That is totally ridiculous.
Is it not ok for me to think we won’t be good this year? can i for once have an opinion on this team based on what i am seeing? do you honestly belive that this team is somehow good or competitive or even as talented as other teams? Hell, i think the marlins will win more games than these mets… book it here!
The Marlins? That statement right there shows that none of your conclusions are based upon any observation but rather an intense dislike for the FO and the job they have done. The Marlins? Tell me, how does their SP match up with the Mets? Can you even name their 5 potential starters without looking them up.? How about their infield? They have a bunch of mostly unproven players there with an aging 3B whos best years are behind them. And their OF, other than Stanton, what is there? Pierre? Still decent but aging. Raggatino (SP)…had success for part of one year….far from certain.
As for the competitiveness of the Mets, you arent even talking that. You are asserting they will win around 60 games….that is a long way from competitive. To contrast, the win totals from 77-80 were 64, 66, 63, 67. So, if I am understanding you, you are claiming that the 2013 Mets are worse than all of those teams.
And you are proclaiming this is based upon unbiased observation.
The Marlins? Good grief. Here we go again.
LOL….Aim lower Alex
Im not willing to give up on Santana. He was a borderline all-star in the first half of last season and if healthy, is still one of the best SP in the game.
I’m not giving up on Santana either. Reminds me a lot of the Beltran situation. Everyone had no idea what the Mets were gonna get from him in his contract year either and it wound up paying off for the Mets.
he is on the 1/2 year plan I guess. Maybe this year he will come back around June 1st, and have a good 2nd half?
Only a cynic though would say taking the winter off and skipping the 1st half was all a plot to make sure he was still healthy enough to pitch at the end of the year, since after all he is looking for his next contract.
Why do people keep acting like “life without Johan Santana” like it should be a surprise to anybody?
Seriously, has anybody counted on him to be healthy at any point in the last four years?
Johan Santana as a Met is equal to Chad Pennington as a Jet. Great players the 10% of the time that they got on the field.
LOL and they better start getting used to it because he’s gone in 2014 regardless of his health!
I keep going back to this premise that Santana has purposely pushed back his schedule so he can peak later in the year … call it the Clemens/Pettitte stratagem … certainly not unfathomable in a walk/option-qualifying year.
I agree and said something similar awhile back — that Johan knows he has only so much gas in the tank at this point in his career and so he took his foot off the pedal and is conserving fuel for when it really matters. I hope that’s what’s going on here.
that sounds fine, but the question is, matters for who?
The Mets would certainly like him for the 1st half 9as with last year) since that helps them in many ways.
The only thing conserving for the 2nd half does is help the odds of Johan finishing the year, which could get im another contract.
so unless you think the Mets are fine for 1st half and will be better served with reinforcements, not seeing the benefit to them!
Stanton,Harper,Zimmerman,Upton brothers,Heyward,Freeman,Howard are all salivating at the thought of Hefner being a rotation regular
While I don’t think Hefner will have a long and distinguised career in Baseball….
I would definitly say he earned the right to be the first guy called to replace a rotation arm that can’t start….
Certainly more than anyone else we have….
That says more about anyone else we have than Hefner though….
My guess is Hefner will one year have his career year and get a nice paycheck never to repeat that year again….
And most likely be a very late bloomer!
Will probably have that year in his mid 30′s where his experience teaches him how to beat the MLB batters by throwing that load a crud he throws…
Like a poor man’s Ojeda