Jenrry Mejia takes the mound and will oppose Cubs left-hander Chris Rusin at 4:05 PM Sunday as the Mets wrap up their two-game series at Cashman Field in Las Vegas.
The Mets have never settled on a role for Mejia, which could be the case again this spring. At 24, Mejia is one of those promising young arms the Mets are boasting. Coming off elbow surgery, they are treating him with kid gloves, but there have been no signs of a setback.
Most starters want to pitch 30 innings in spring training, but with only two weeks left Mejia has only worked two. He could get four today against the Cubs in Las Vegas, but won’t get close to 20, much less 30.
Originally, Mejia was to compete with Daisuke Matsuzaka and John Lannan for the fifth-starter role. But, if building for the future is the objective for 2014, it should be Mejia because he has the greatest upside.
Without Matt Harvey, this would have been the perfect chance to develop Mejia. Instead, it is turning out to be a lost opportunity, either to use him for their rotation or showcase him for a trade.
With Mejia in the rotation, they’ll have a better idea of where they stand heading going into 2015. If Matsuzaka gets those starts, they still won’t know about Mejia as a starter.
But, how about as a reliever?
The Mets tried that route without success in 2010. Then-manager Jerry Manuel, knowing his job was in severe jeopardy, wanted Mejia on the major league roster to work out of the bullpen to start that season. That was for Manuel’s interests, not Mejia’s.
However, Manuel wouldn’t use him in pressure situations, so Mejia languished without work when he could have been getting starts in the minor leagues.
Understandably, Mejia struggled and was eventually optioned to Triple-A to go back in the rotation. His arm didn’t adjust to the back-and-forth and he was eventually injured and required Tommy John surgery to repair his elbow.
Entering that season, Mejia was a highly sought prospect, but his value was greatly reduced because of how he was used. After he was hurt, he missed all of 2011.
In five starts last season, pitching with a bone spur in his elbow, Mejia had a 2.30 ERA, walked four and struck out 27 in 27.1 innings pitched. He had a minor procedure to resolve that last fall and is finally 100% healthy for the first time in nearly four years.
The Mets are again considering Mejia for their bullpen, but already have seven candidates without him. Just how much work would he get?
If not up here, they should use him as a starter in the minors, which is probably in their best long-term interest because that would hasten his development and possibly build his trade value.
I see him starting the season in Triple-A, but where ever he ends up, just pick a role and stick with it.
(Photo: Brad Barr, USATSI)
