As Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote today, Jenrry Mejia‘s possible return date from his 80-game suspension is in sight and right now, the Mets are saying he will return to the team.
Mejia will be allowed to rehab and even pitch in the minor leagues before he is eligible to return to the major league club. If all games are played on schedule, he will be allowed to return to the team on July 7, at which point Assistant GM John Ricco expects him to be ready to pitch in major league games.The big caveat, of course, is that he will not be eligible for the postseason if the Mets make it.
Mejia, who was suspended after testing positive for an anabolic steroid, is currently pitching in the Mets’ Dominican complex, and will head to Port St. Lucie at some point in June to begin pitching in live games.
Sherman notes that it appears the Mets bullpen, currently ranked fifth in baseball with a 2.64 ERA, will only get better as the season goes on with Vic Black, Bobby Parnell, Jerry Blevins, and Jenrry Mejia all set to return to an already-solid group. Travis d’Arnaud and Dilson Herrera should return to the club in the next few weeks as well.
