The Mets are moving Jenrry Mejia back to the starting rotation said Mets VP of Player Development Paul DePodesta according to comments he made to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, Sure enough, today’s media notes from the Buffalo Bisons reported that Mejia will get the start on Monday against the Indianapolis Indians at 7:05 PM.
DePodesta explained that Mejia changed his style of pitching once he moved from the rotation to the bullpen and not in a good way. It was what prompted the shift in the organization’s strategy with the young right-hander.
“The one detriment so far of him being in the bullpen is he’s had a mentality of just trying to throw harder, just trying to throw the ball by guys as opposed to pitching. That certainly wasn’t the intention or the goal of having him in the bullpen.”
Mejia, 22, is coming off Tommy John surgery, and is 14 months removed from the procedure. Before he was removed from the Buffalo rotation, he had a 1.13 ERA i three starts. While working out of the bullpen, Mejia hasn’t experienced the same level of success as his 5.48 ERA in 21.1 innings would indicate. The league batted .145 against him as a starter and .303 as a reliever.
“We don’t necessarily want to keep going back and forth,” DePodesta said last week. “Jenrry is in a tough spot because he’s still really coming back from Tommy John. I think we’re all thrilled right now that he’s out on the mound and he’s competing in such a short period time.”
I think Mejia is back where he belongs and is in his element when he’s starting. Good move.
