Jenrry Mejía

Jenrry Manuel Mejía (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxenri meˈxi.a]; born October 11, 1989) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the Mexican League. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets.

Jenrry Mejía
Mejía with the New York Mets in 2014
Algodoneros de Unión Laguna
Pitcher
Born: (1989-10-11) October 11, 1989
Azua, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 7, 2010, for the New York Mets
MLB statistics
Win–loss record9–14
Earned run average3.68
Strikeouts162
Saves28
Teams

Mejía signed with the Mets as an international free agent on April 4, 2007. He made his MLB debut in 2010 and was named the Mets' closer in May 2014. Mejía was suspended for the first 80 games of the 2015 season after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs (PED). He received his second suspension in July 2015 after a second failed test. He tested positive for a third time, which was reported in February 2016, resulting in his permanent suspension from MLB. He was the first player to receive a permanent suspension due to violating MLB's drug policy three times.[1] Mejía later submitted an application for reinstatement, as allowed under MLB's drug policy, which was granted by Commissioner Rob Manfred in July 2018.[1]

Early life

Mejía was born in Azua in the southwestern Dominican Republic.[2] Growing up, Mejía lived with his parents and younger brother in a neighborhood called Herrera, near Santo Domingo's former airport of the same name.[2][3] Starting at age 11, he made his living by shining shoes, earning about 300 pesos a day.[3] When he was 15 years old, he started playing baseball, becoming interested in the sport once he realized that players were able to earn a large signing bonus.[3] He drew some interest from several teams, including the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, but was not seen at that time as a top talent, because he was small and slight of build.[3][4] He ultimately signed with the New York Mets for $16,500 in 2007, at the age of 17.[3][4][5]

Professional career

Minor leagues

In 2007, Mejía played for the DSL Mets.[3] He recorded a 2–3 record with a 2.47 ERA 14 games (7 starts). The next year, Mejía pitched for the GCL Mets and the Brooklyn Cyclones.[3] His combined statistics were a 5–2 record, with a 2.89 ERA in 14 starts.

Mejía started the 2009 season pitching for the Single-A St. Lucie Mets.[3] He was 4–1 with a 1.97 ERA.[6] Then, he was promoted to Double-A Binghamton. There he posted a 0–5 record with a 4.47 ERA in 10 starts.[6] He also missed seven weeks with a strained middle finger on his pitching hand.[3] Mejía had a 4–6 record with a 3.14 ERA in 19 total starts.[4] Because of his success in the 2009 season, he was named the 48th best prospect in the major leagues in the MLB.com Midseason Top 50 Prospect list. After the 2009 season, the Mets assigned him to the Surprise Rafters of the Arizona Fall League,[4] where he posted a 12.56 ERA in six starts.[7] In February 2010, Mejía was ranked as the 56th best prospect in all of baseball by Baseball America.[8]

New York Mets

2010
Mejía with the New York Mets in 2010

Mejía made the Mets 2010 opening day roster as a relief pitcher, at only 20 years old, making him the youngest Met to make an opening day roster since Dwight Gooden.[6] He made his major league debut on April 7, 2010.[9] After posting a 2.60 ERA in 30 relief appearances, on June 20, 2010, Mejía was optioned to Double-A Binghamton to become a starter, with Bobby Parnell taking his spot in the Mets bullpen.[6][10] Mejía was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on September 1.[10] On September 4, Mejía made his first major league start for the Mets at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs.[11] Mike Nickeas, who caught Mejía, also made his debut in the majors on the same day.[12]

2011–2012
Mejía with the New York Mets in 2012

After starting five games for the Mets' Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, on April 29, 2011, Mejía left the game after four innings due to elbow discomfort. He was diagnosed a few days later with a complete tear of his ulnar collateral ligament and required Tommy John surgery, which put him out of reach for the remainder of the 2011 season.[5][13] Mejía missed much of the 2012 season due to recovery from Tommy John surgery.

2013

Mejía began the 2013 season on the 60-day disabled list. He was activated on July 26, 2013, and started the first game of a day-night doubleheader against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. He pitched 7 scoreless innings, giving up 7 hits, striking out 7, and walking none en route to his first win of the season.[14]

2014

In 2014, Mejía won the Mets' fifth starter role out of spring training, beating out Daisuke Matsuzaka and John Lannan.[15] Mejía's first start and win came on April 4 at Citi Field against the Cincinnati Reds in which he went 6 innings striking out 8 and allowing 4 hits, 1 run, and 5 walks. After struggling in seven starts, Mejía was moved into the bullpen on May 12.[16] The Mets began using Mejía as the closer, after the release of former closers Kyle Farnsworth and José Valverde.[17] On May 25, Mejía played a key role in a double header against the Arizona Diamondbacks. In the first game, Mejía gave up a run off a fielder's choice to Diamondbacks shortstop Chris Owings in the top of the 9th inning. The Mets would go on to lose the first game 2–1. However, in the second game, Mejía again pitched the 9th inning, this time earning his 3rd save of the season in a 4–2 Mets victory. Mejía earned 28 saves in 31 chances on the season.[18] As closer, Mejia was known for a distinctive stomp to celebrate completing a save.[19]

2015

On Opening Day, Mejía was warming up for a 9th inning save, but injured his elbow. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list the next day with elbow inflammation, retroactive to April 5.[20] On April 11, it was announced that Mejía was suspended for 80 games by MLB after testing positive for use of stanozolol, a performance-enhancing drug (PED).[21] Despite returning to the Mets in July, Mejía was replaced as closer by Jeurys Familia.[22] On July 28, 2015, Major League Baseball announced that Mejía had been suspended for 162 games after failing a test for stanozolol and Boldenone.[23]

2016–2018: Indefinite ban and reinstatement

On January 25, 2016, the Mets re-signed Mejía to a one-year deal for $2.47 million, avoiding arbitration. However, due to his 162-game suspension, he would have only received a portion of that salary, since he would have to miss the first 99 games of the season.[5][24] On February 12, MLB announced that Mejía had tested positive for Boldenone, again.[5] He was the second player to have three positive tests, after Neifi Pérez.[5] As this was his third positive test for anabolic steroids, he was automatically banned from MLB for life.[18][25] He became the first person to be banned for life due to multiple PED use offenses. He was also one of only four living people to be permanently banned, the others being Pete Rose in 1990, along with Chris Correa and John Coppolella in 2017.[5][26] Mejía claimed that he only failed one test, and that MLB pressured him to reveal where he obtained the PEDs after the second positive test, which he considered to be inaccurate. He further claimed that MLB conspired to engineer the third positive test.[27]

Mejía was eligible to petition Commissioner Rob Manfred for reinstatement after one year. However, he was required to sit out a minimum of two years, meaning that he would not be eligible to return until 2018 at the earliest.[28] At the time, he remained under the Mets' control until the end of his contract, when the club had the option to non-tender him.[29] The Mets and Mejía did agree to a contract for the 2017 season, despite the fact that Mejía was not eligible to play and did not receive any salary in 2017.[30] On November 1, 2017, Mejía returned to professional baseball when he signed a contract to play in the Venezuela Winter League for the Navegantes del Magallanes.[31] He pitched ​9 1⁄3 innings across six games, finishing with a 3.86 ERA, but allowed eight hits and issued 12 walks.[32]

On July 6, 2018, MLB announced that Mejía was being reinstated, and was allowed to have "non-public workouts at Mets facilities" after the 2018 MLB All-Star Game.[1] He subsequently made two appearances with the Dominican Summer League Mets, pitching a total of seven innings without allowing any runs.[33] The Mets released Mejía on November 20, 2018, the deadline for the team to protect Mejía from being picked by other clubs in the Rule 5 draft by adding him to their 40-man roster, which the Mets declined to do.[34]

Boston Red Sox

On January 30, 2019, Mejía signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox.[35] After spending spring training with Boston, he was assigned to the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox, and also made appearances with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs and Class A Short Season Lowell Spinners.[36] Overall during 2019, Mejía was 2–8 with eight saves and a 6.02 ERA, with 58 strikeouts in ​55 1⁄3 innings.[36]

Algodoneros de Unión Laguna

On February 7, 2020, Mejía signed with the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the Mexican League.

Pitching style

Mejía throws a total of five pitches.[37] His primary pitch is a natural cut fastball, created by his three-quarters arm angle.[3][7][37][38] As a prospect, his fastball averaged 94 to 96 miles per hour.[3] Following Tommy John surgery, Mejía's fastball movement was reduced due to a change in arm angle, but was later restored.[38] Mejía also throws a curveball, slider, changeup, and sinker.[3][37] He retained the use of all five pitches, even as a reliever.[37]

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See also

References
  1. Fish, Erin (July 6, 2018). "MLB reinstates pitcher Jenrry Mejía". MLB.com. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  2. Berkon, Ben (February 18, 2016). "Scout Who Signed Jenrry Mejia: 'Mejia Says He's Innocent'". Forbes. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  3. Costa, Brian. "Mets pitching prospect Jenrry Mejía leaves shoe shining days behind for good", The Star-Ledger (New Jersey), March 14, 2010.
  4. Rubin, Adam (October 13, 2009). "Hard-throwing Jenrry Mejia emerges as New York Mets top pitching prospect". Daily News (New York). Surprise, Arizona. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  5. Rohan, Tim (February 12, 2016). "Mets Pitcher Jenrry Mejia Is First Major Leaguer to Get Lifetime Ban for Doping". The New York Times. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  6. Rubin, Adam (May 18, 2010). "Source: Mejia to start again in minors". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on May 21, 2010.
  7. Harper, John (March 3, 2010). "Darryl Strawberry sees young Mariano Rivera in New York Mets' prospect Jenrry Mejia". New York Daily News. Port St. Lucie, Florida. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  8. Staff Report (February 23, 2010). "op 100 Prospects: No. 41-60: Ranking the prospects from Jason Castro to Tyler Flowers". Baseball America. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  9. Martino, Andy; McCarron, Anthony; Spector, Jesse; Red, Christian (April 8, 2010). "Strikeouts still an issue for New York Mets first baseman Mike Jacobs". New York Daily News. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  10. Associated Press (September 1, 2010). "Mets Recall Jenrry Mejia, Lucas Duda From Buffalo". WCBS-TV. Atlanta. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  11. McCarron, Anthony (September 16, 2010). "New York Mets pitcher Jenrry Mejia leaves eventual 8–7 win early, leaves ballpark to undergo MRI". New York Daily News. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  12. Waldstein, David (September 4, 2010). "CUBS 7, METS 6; Mets Negate Scoring Burst With Pitching Letdown". The New York Times. Chicago. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  13. Associated Press (January 28, 2015). "Reliever Jenrry Mejia, Mets get 1-year deal, no arbitration". Yahoo! Sports. New York City.
  14. "Daniel Murphy drives in 5; Jenrry Mejía wins season debut for Mets". ESPN. July 26, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  15. Vorkunov, Mike (March 29, 2014). "Mets pick Jenrry Mejia as fifth starter but leave possibilities open". NJ.com. Montreal. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  16. Vorkunov, Mike (May 12, 2014). "Mets move Jenrry Mejia to bullpen, will bring up Rafael Montero to start vs. Yankees". NJ.com. New York City. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  17. Vorkunov, Mike (July 18, 2014). "Mets: Emergence of Jenrry Mejia, Jeurys Familia has elevated quality and velocity of bullpen". NJ.com. San Diego. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  18. Snyder, Matt (February 12, 2016). "Jenrry Mejia fails third PED test, receives permanent ban from MLB". CBS Sports. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  19. Vorkunov, Mike (September 13, 2014). "Mets closer Jenrry Mejia draws a line in celebrations: He's just having fun". NJ.com. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  20. Vorkunov, Mike (April 7, 2015). "Mets put Jenrry Mejia on DL, call up Erik Goeddel". NJ.com. Washington, D.C. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  21. Wilmoth, Charlie (April 11, 2015). "Jenrry Mejía Receives 80-Game Suspension". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  22. Carig, Marc (February 17, 2016). "Jeurys Familia, Jenrry Mejia have gone in opposite directions". Newsday. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  23. "Mets' Jenrry Mejía banned 162 games after 2nd failed PED test". New York Post. July 28, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  24. Associated Press (January 25, 2016). "Mets agree to 1-year contracts with Lucas Duda, Jenrry Mejia". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  25. "Mets' Mejia handed permanent suspension". New York Mets. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  26. Clark, Dave (February 12, 2016). "Pete Rose has company on banned list". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  27. Berkon, Ben (March 4, 2016). "Jenrry Mejia Says Baseball Officials Orchestrated His Lifetime Ban". The New York Times. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  28. "Mets' Jenrry Mejia gets permanent MLB drug ban". New York Post. February 12, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  29. Davidoff, Ken (February 15, 2016). "Mets can technically keep Jenrry Mejia, but will they bother?". New York Post. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  30. "Mets, Mejia go through formality of agreeing to contract". Yahoo! News. January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  31. "Jenrry Mejía buscará resurgir en el béisbol con Magallanes - El Carabobeño". El Carabobeño (in Spanish). November 1, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  32. "Mets reliever Jenrry Mejia is eyeing a possible return to the majors". Northjersey.com. January 13, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  33. Baseball-reference.com
  34. Kramer, Daniel (November 20, 2018). "Mets part ways with reliever Mejía". MLB.com (in Spanish). Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  35. "Red Sox Roster & Staff – Transactions". MLB.com. January 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  36. "Jenrry Mejia Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  37. Baumbach, Jim (May 31, 2014). "Jenrry Mejia won't close door on all five of his pitches". Newsday. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  38. Puma, Mike (March 15, 2013). "Mets' Mejia gets his cutter back". New York Post. Port St. Lucie, Florida. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
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