While the the Mets have signed veterans John Lannan and Daisuke Matsuzaka this Winter to minor league deals to battle for the final remaining spot in the rotation, the Mets are hoping that Jenrry Mejia wins the job according to this article by Jorge Castillo of the Star-Ledger.
If spring training goes the Mets’ way, neither veteran will break camp as the club’s No. 5 starter. Instead, Jenrry Mejía, once the organization’s prized prospect, will have shown enough to earn the position and join the growing cast of young arms in the majors.
Castillo says the right-hander spent the bulk of his offseason rehabbing following elbow surgery at the Mets’ academy in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic and left for the Mets’ spring training complex in Port St. Lucie, Fla. on Sunday.
Mejía hasn’t thrown a bullpen session yet, but has thrown long-toss from over 100 feet without discomfort, Mets Director of Latin American Operations Juan Henderson said from Boca Chica Monday morning.
“He’s on the right track,” Henderson said. “He’s still on his rehab program, which started down here. Now he went to Port St. Lucie to continue it and he’s doing very well. He’s on schedule so we are very happy with what we’ve seen so far with his progress. So he should be fine and ready to compete in the states.”
Mejia, 24, dazzled in a brief showing last season, posting a 2.30 ERA yin 27.1 innings with 27 strikeouts and just four walks.
I’d be shocked if he wasn’t on the mound when the Mets play their fifth game of the season.
