Recently there’s been a lot of chatter about who the closer should be next season with some even suggesting trading Jenrry Mejia who was second in the NL in saves during the second half with 18, only one behind the Marlins’ Steve Cishek.
I have no problem with Jenrry Mejia as the closer entering the season. Keep in mind he pitched through a sports hernia.
Ultimately, the closer doesn´t necessarily have to be your best reliever. Instead, he has to be a reliever who doesn’t melt under pressure and who takes to the role well.
Even when he struggled, Mejia usually got that one big out. He reminded me a lot of K-Rod or John Franco for that matter. You´d look and there’d be runners on 1st and 3rd with one out. But a popup and a strikeout later, the game is over and the game has been saved. Others such as Braden Looper, or Bobby Parnell on the other hand, always seemed to have a knack for giving up the big hit in those spots.
The good thing for the Mets is that if Mejia struggles, they can always go to Parnell if healthy or Jeurys Familia or Vic Black who certainly have the power stuff to close. But they can also be very helpful entering a game in the 7th with a man on base in a key spot.
Mejia probably needs to start the inning and has to work on getting the first hitter out which he struggled with in 2014. This was his first half of a season as a fulltime reliever with a set role. If healthy, I see a lot of promise to improve going forward and becoming more shutdown closer than he was in 2014.
