10:00 PM
Jenrry Mejia was cruising on Friday night at Olympic Stadium until he was struck by a liner off the bat of Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Ryan Goins in the bottom of the fifth.
The ball struck Mejia in the right forearm and after a visit from Terry Collins and trainer Ray Ramirez, he was pulled from the game.
The team called it a bruise but said Mejia would get X-rays after the game. Terry Collins said he had a lump develop on his forearm very quickly.
Collins also said that John Lannan might be fallback if Mejia or Jon Niese is not OK.
Mejia was tabbed to start next Friday against the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field.
More details to come…
5:10 PM
Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reports that according to Terry Collins, Jenrry Mejia may very well start next Friday at Citi Field against the Cincinnati Reds, with Daisuke Matsuzaka held back for a potential start two days later should Jonathon Niese be unable to come off the disabled list that day.
Rubin adds, rather than have Mejia and Matsuzaka on the Opening Day roster, the Mets will instead carry only four starting pitchers to begin the season, allowing them to have an extra bench player (Andrew Brown) for five games.
1:20 PM
Poor Jenrry Mejia… After a long road back from Tommy John surgery and at the precipice of officially being named the Mets fifth starter, a bunion on his right toe could derail his chances of making the opening day roster. That’s right, a bunion.
Mejia was actually forced to leave his last start early when it became too painful to continue pitching, and pitching coach Dan Warthen told reporters the bunion was still an issue when he threw his last bullpen.
Manager Terry Collins said this could become a factor in whether the team turns to Mejia or Daisuke Matsuzaka to start the season and may impact the fifth-starter race. However, nothing definitive has been decided as of yet.
Asked if he’d be okay for his start on Friday, Mejia said, “I feel pretty good. I’m very excited to pitch tomorrow.”
With Jon Niese feeling amazing and Matsuzaka set to start on Saturday, this fifth starter decision looks like it will go down to the wire.
