New York Mets’ Closer Jenrry Mejia Hit With 80-Game Suspension

Jenrry Mejia of the New York Mets has been suspended for 80 games following a positive test of Stanozolol. This substance comes into conflict with Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug and Prevention Program. The New York Daily News and various other outlets have confirmed the story.

According to an MLB.com article, Mejia will not appeal his suspension. This signifies the removal of New York’s closer for essentially half the season. Mejia hadn’t logged an inning yet this year because of an arm issue, but the 25-year-old righty was a workhorse in 2014. He totaled 93.2 innings, 98 strikeouts and 28 saves.

What’s most troubling for the Mets are the ramifications regarding bullpen depth. Mejia himself is something of a question mark when on the mound, and the bullpen in its entirety is full of unknowns. Vic Black is on the disabled list. Josh Edgin, a promising southpaw, is already out for the season. Bobby Parnell‘s return date isn’t clear.

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Aside from Jeurys Familia, answers are thin. Familia had a marvelous 2014 showcase, finishing his 77.1 innings with a 2.21 ERA and 23 holds. He seems like a logical candidate to close, although he might be required to bridge gaps during the seventh inning of contests.

There’s also Jerry Blevins, a decently serviceable lefty, along with multiple members who will now play a larger role. These will include Carlos Torres, Rafael Montero and others. The Mets could also be in the market for an unsigned reliever, perhaps someone like Rafael Soriano. A trade to bolster the bullpen shouldn’t be out of the question.

For Mejia personally, while he won’t appeal his suspension, he didn’t exactly accept responsibility, either. The above mentioned NY Daily News article quotes Mejia’s statement on the matter. He questions how the substance entered his system. He also apologized to the organization, his teammates, fans and family.

Considering Mejia’s live stuff and young age, New York should be infuriated by the news. With multiple relievers already down, the Mets had substantial problems prior to this unfortunate development. They can’t afford reckless and foolish actions from their players. There’s no alternative description to assess Mejia’s choices.

From a public perspective, even if Mejia was the victim of random circumstances here, something that is certainly questionable, believability isn’t on the side of MLB players. The steroid era isn’t just a black eye on baseball, it’s a massive facial injury that took away vision from both eyes. The whole “accidental” or “mistaken” method of ingesting banned substances comes across as bogus.

Concerning both Mejia and the baseball world, let this be a lesson. The consequences for hasty actions are severe. Mejia will be known for the rest of his career as the guy who served an 80-game suspension for a banned substance.

Fair or not, this will follow him forever.  For the Mets, they shouldn’t care about Mejia’s legacy. All that matters to them is the devastating loss of a closer one week into the year. That’s a nightmarish turn of events from any perspective.

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