Jenrry Mejia
Sometimes things are coincidences. You are at the wrong place at the wrong time by happenstance even if no one will believe it. Other times you’re Sandy Alderson, and you actively pursue steroid guys.
Sandy Alderson was the GM of the late 80’s Oakland A’s teams that had been seen as the ground zero for the proliferation of steroid usage (fair or not). For his part, Alderson denied having knowledge of the steroids use. Interestingly enough, his manager, Tony La Russa was well aware. Now, Alderson has not played stupid by acknowledging he suspected some but not all players. He also expressed regret for not taking a bigger stand against PED usage.
For me personally, these words ring hollow. No, I’m not calling him a liar. That’s unfair, and I don’t know him well enough to do that. However, what I will say is that for a GM looking to take a bigger stand against PEDs, he certainly likes adding those player. Here are the know PED users signed by Sandy Alderson during his tenure as the Mets GM:
Is this list appalling? Well, it depends on your point-of-view. Keep in mind this list doesn’t include farm hands that may have been suspended, not does it include the Jenrry Mejia was was suspended TWICE last year for PEDs and was tendered a contract. Overall, Alderson is averaging about one steroid signing a year.
There are two thoughts I have. The first is his ultimate responsibility is to put the best team he can assemble on the field. At times, this may include PED players. The second thought I have is for a guy who supposedly wanted to take a larger role against PED usage, he certainly isn’t helping by signing those players.
I do find it harder to root for the PED guys. It’s part of the reason I’m in the minority when it comes to all this Bartolo Colon love. Ideally, the Mets wouldn’t sign these guys even though I acknowledge players like Byrd have greatly benefitted the Mets.
Apparently, Sandy Alderson doesn’t feel the same way I do.
First off, I should start by saying I find PEDs to be a blight on the game. I also don’t want those type of players on the Mets. With that said, I don’t run a team.
When you run a team, you only have one job, and that is to put together the best team possible. For starters, this means acquiring the best players you can and keeping them on the team for as long as possible. It also means protecting your assets. This includes players who have two steroids suspensions.
Take the suspensions and PEDs out of it for a second. Jenrry Mejia is a good relief pitcher. In 2014, after struggling as a starter, Mejia became the Mets closer. Mejia recorded 28 saves with a 2.72 ERA in 56 games. He struck out 9.6 per nine. In limited time last year, he had seven appearances allowing no earned runs in 7.1 innings.
In addition, Mejia is very affordable. His salary was $2.595 million last year. It’s not anticipated that he will receive a raise next year. This is where the steroid suspension comes into consideration:
Was off by one game yesterday: Jenrry Mejia officially has served 63 games of suspension. So he has 99 games remaining.
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinMedia) December 1, 2015
Mejia is gone for 99 games. At $2.6 million, Mejia will make approximately $16,000 per game. The Mets don’t have to pay him while he’s suspended meaning Mejia will lose $1.58 million in salary. Put another way, if Mejia doesn’t get suspended again, the Mets will only owe him about $1.0 million for 63 games.
If Mejia is good, he will help in the bullpen. If he’s not, the Mets could easily cut him. If he’s caught using steroids again, he’s gone from the game forever. The risk is all on Mejia, not the Mets. With that in mind, the Mets should bring him back no matter how much I don’t want to see him on the Mets next year. For what it’s worth, apparently the Mets seem to be coming around and will tender him a contract.
I don’t like him being a Met, but I also didn’t like Bartolo Colon on the team either. However, the Mets brought him aboard because they thought he could help the team. If that’s their thinking, they need to tender Mejia a contract.
I believe this even though I wish he was gone from the team.
Something occurred to me last night. The Mets have a real problem this offseason. It’s one that they partially created. In a nutshell, they arrived too soon.
At the beginning of 2015, no one saw the Mets winning the NL Pennant. They were coming off a 79-83 season. The already dominant Nationals added Max Scherzer. Bryce Harper wasn’t the only one who thought the Nationals were bound to win a ring. Even with Jacob deGrom winning the Rookie of the Year and the return of Matt Harvey most thought the best case scenario was the Mets competing for one of the Wild Cards.
What happened? The National faltered so badly they had to fire their manager. deGrom was even better than he was in his rookie year. Harvey showed no rust and has no setbacks in his first season back from Tommy John surgery. The Mets offense and his play in AA forced the Mets to call up Michael Conforto, who played well. Noah Syndergaard had an incredible rookie year. Jeurys Familia became a great closer.
Add that to Curtis Granderson having a great year and an amazing two months from Yoenis Cespedes, the Mets win 90 games and win the NL East. When the young pitching delivers in the postseason and Daniel Murphy becomes unhittable, you win a pennant. Man was that an unlikely pennant. Going into the year, you would’ve thought everything wouldn’t had to break right for the Mets to get to this point. It was quite the opposite.
Zack Wheeler‘s season was over before it began with him needing Tommy John surgery. David Wright missed most of the season with spinal stenosis. Murphy was in and out of the lineup in the first half with injuries. Michael Cuddyer wasn’t as good as they hoped, got hurt, and became an expensive bench player. Wilmer Flores struggled at shortstop creating a strange platoon with Ruben Tejada. Dilson Herrera couldn’t fill the gaps because he still wasn’t ready. Travis d’Arnaud had two long DL trips, and his replacements couldn’t hit. Juan Lagares took big steps back offensively and defensively. Lucas Duda had a streaky year with prolonged slumps. Oh, and their closer, Jenrry Mejia, had not one but two PED suspensions.
Really, this wasn’t some magical season. It was frustrating for most of the year. It was magical from August on. If not fit the Nationals ineptitude, the Mets should’ve been dead and buried. The Mets should’ve been looking to build off of a strong 2015 season. The Mets still have prospects a year or two away. The year was really supposed to be 2017. That was the year the Mets pitching would’ve been firmly established with the Mets having quality players at every position across the diamond.
No, they’re way ahead of schedule. They’re ready to let Murphy walk after he’s been a solid player for many years, let alone that postseason. There’s no room for Cespedes. The Mets are again talking about not being able to expand payroll. It’s creating an air of frustration amongst the fan base. It’s strange considering what happened in 2015.
What’s also strange is a poor NL East is seemingly getting worse. The NL East may very well be there for the taking WITHOUT the Mets signing even one player. In actuality, not signing anyone could arguably be a prudent move for the future of the team.
Do you really want to block 2B with a large contract when Herrera is a potential All Star. Do you grossly overpay for a bad shortstop when the Mets have not one but two big prospects at that position who are not far away? Why are you getting a terrible centerfielder when Brandon Nimmo is so close.
Do you block the path for some potential All Stars for aging players who MAY help you one year and be an albatross when the prospects are ready? How do you not build upon a team that went to the World Series last year? Can you reasonably ask a fan base to wait another year after all the losing? How do you explain last year might’ve been a fluke?
That’s the Mets real problem. They’re trying to juggle the present and the future. The front office is going to have to earn their money this offseason.
Earlier posts addressed the Mets postseason pitching experience as well as the Dodgers postseason offense. While it is interesting to see how theses players fared in October’s past, I’m more interested in seeing how the Mets pitchers have performed against the Dodgers (* – not on team, ** – not on projected roster):
July 3, 2015 Dodger Stadium
Noah Syndergaard ND, 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Hansel Robles W, 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Jeurys Familia S, 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K
July 4, 2015 Dodger Stadium
Matt Harvey L, 5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 4
Alex Torres* 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
Carlos Torres** 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Sean Gilmartin 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
June 5, 2015 Dodger Stadium
Steven Matz W, 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
Logan Verrett** S, 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
July 23, 2015 Citi Field
Bartolo Colon L, 8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Sean Gilmartin, 0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Carlos Torres** 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
July 24, 2015 Citi Field
Jon Niese L, 3.0 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Carlos Torres** 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Hansel Robles 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Alex Torres* 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
July 25, 2015 Citi Field
Matt Harvey W, 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Jenrry Mejia* 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Jeurys Familia 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
July 26, 2015 Citi Field
Jacob deGrom ND, 7.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
Jeurys Familia, BS, 1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Jenrry Mejia, W, 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Cumulative
Here are the cumulative stats for the pitchers who are projected to make the playoff roster:
Noah Syndergaard, 0-0, 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Matt Harvey 1-1, 12.0 IP, 13 H, 5 ER, 6 BB, 8 K
Steven Matz 1-0, 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
Bartolo Colon 0-1, 8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Jon Niese 0-1, 3.0 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Jacob deGrom 0-0, 7.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
Hansel Robles 1-0, 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
Jeurys Familia S, BS, 3.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Sean Gilmartin 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Overall, with the exception of Niese, who will not start in the NLDS, have pitched well against the Dodgers. The Mets pitchers faced most of the Dodgers batters they will face in the playoffs. These stats give me confidence the Mets can win this series.
Look, this is Sandy Alderson’s team. He decided to keep the players he kept and trade the players he traded. He pulled off the trades and signed the free agents. However, he was able to do a lot of what he did because he was left with good players after Omar Minaya was terminated.
Here are the players in the 40 man roster who have a link to Omar Minaya (asterisked players are players obtained with players combined by Minaya and Alderson):
Jerry Blevins – obtained for 2010 draft pick Matt den Dekker.
Eric Campbell – 2008 draft pick.
Darrell Ceciliani – 2009 draft pick.
Travis d’Arnaud – part of the R.A. Dickey trade. Dickey was a free agent signing. Josh Thole was a 2005 draft pick. Mike Nickeas was initially obtained by trade in 2006.
Jacob deGrom – 2010 draft pick.
Lucas Duda – 2007 draft pick.
Jeurys Familia – 2007 amateur free agent signing.
Wilmer Flores – 2007 amateur free agent signing.
Erik Goeddel – 2010 draft pick.
Matt Harvey – 2010 draft pick
Dilson Herrera* – part of Marlon Byrd/John Buck trade. Buck was part of the Dickey trade (see d’Arnaud).
Juan Lagares – 2006 amateur free agent signing.
Steven Matz – 2009 draft pick.
Jenrry Mejia – 2007 amateur free agent signing.
Akeel Morris -2010 draft pick.
Daniel Murphy – 2006 draft pick.
Bobby Parnell – 2005 draft pick.
Addison Reed* – obtained in exchange for Matt Koch and Miller Diaz (signed by Mets in 2009).
Hansel Robles – 2008 amateur free agent.
Noah Syndergaard – part of Dickey trade (see d’Arnaud).
Ruben Tejada – 2006 amateur free agent.
Again, these players are in the roster because Alderson kept them. The decision of who to keep and trade is important. That is what makes them Alderson’s players and team. Additionally, while It was Alderson that hired Terry Collins, it was Minaya who brought him into the Mets organization.
However, it is important to truly acknowledge Minaya’s role, especially when he has been unfairlyand wrongly marginalized.
You see I was on the same Jet Blue flight as Omar Minaya. The photo with this post was Minaya and me in the terminal before the flight. He was accessible to Mets fans who wanted to shake his hand and take a picture. No one, and I mean no one, had the “courage” to mock him on the flight.
Additionally, this should dispel the notion that Minaya left the Mets with a depleted farm system. On the contrary, he built a strong farm system that helped make up this team. Minaya had his faults, and he probably deserved to be fired when he was. That doesn’t mean we should ignore his work.
It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t extend our gratitude to him for what he left behind.
Terry Collins came into this season as a lame duck manager. That can be poison going into a year. A lot of that was alleviated by the Mets 11game winning streak in April. Then the injuries came.
On April 14th, David Wright went on the DL with a hamstring, but we would later learn it could be much worse. On April 19th, Travis d’Arnaud went to the DL with a right hand fracture. He would come off the DL on June 10th, and he would return to the DL on June 23rd. Jerry Blevins went on the DL with a broken forearm on the same day as d’Arnaud’s first DL stint. On June 5th, Daniel Murphy went on the DL with a left quad injury.
These injuries were on top of season ending injuries to Zack Wheeler and Josh Edgin. The Mets lost Jenrry Mejia first two injury on Opening Day and then to a steroids suspension. Rafael Montero was first an option in the bullpen and then the rotation. He went on the DL with a shoulder injury and would never pitch again. Dillon Gee was in and out of the rotation, and he went on the DL. Eventually, he went into the doghouse.
There was also the issues of ineffectiveness. Lucas Duda started out hot, and then got really, really cold. He had trouble carrying the offense. It’s no wonder his back went out. Kirk Nieuwenhuis was terrible, and he was traded to the Angels. When Nieuwenhuis flopped with the Angels, the Mets and their dreadful offense took him back. Of course, Michael Cuddyer had a typical first year with the Mets.
Through all of this, Collins kept it together. It was a miracle. The Mets should not have been in position to make trades. They were in a small part because the Nationals didn’t run away with it. A larger part was Collins holding it together. Then when he finally had a real MLB roster, his abilities as a tactician into question.
He started making questionable choices, and he cost his team some games. Then the season defining series against the Nationals. Collins said he was treating it like a playoff series. He made a number of moves. He was brilliant. However, it leaves me to question which is the true Terry Collins. Is he the man that is better at getting the most out of a team? Is he a guy that can jeopardize a game with questionable moves? Is he the guy that can pull it together to make all the right moves when a series is in the line?
Is he all these things? I don’t know. Part of the reason why is this is Collins first real pennant race as the team to beat. Another reason is he’s never had a team this good. Finally, he’s never been in the playoffs. He’s going to get his chance now.
It’s funny that with no new contract, this could be Collins first and last chance at a World Series. I hope he gets it. Not just because I’m a Mets fan, but because he’s a good man. He’s spent his life in baseball, and he has earned his chance.
I just hope when the time comes we see the Collins that managed against the Nationals.
NOTE: hat tip to @koosman2pointOh for his suggestion on this post.
Sometimes, I don’t understand Mets fans. The Mets make a few trades and they act like they’re flush with cash. The Mets refinance $700 million in debt, and fans act the team is broke again.
The truth of the matter is nothing has changed. It’s true the Mets added almost $9 million in salary. Its also true the Braves and Athletics provided money in their trades with the Mets.
Furthermore, they have saved money in their current payroll. Jenrry Mejia was slated to make $2 million. It was his own stupidity that led to most of this money not being paid. Then there’s the savings on the David Wright contract. He’s slated to make $20 million, and his contract is 75% insured.
Based upon the 162 game schedule, Wright makes $123,419.79 per game. Wright has missed 111 games, or $13,699,596.69 in salary. With his contract being 75% insured, the Mets saved $10,274,679.52. You’ve read that right. While the Mets have technically added payroll, the salaries they’re paying out is less than their budget. Keep in mind this number increases each day Wright is on the DL.
The refinancing is not an issue. They’re saving money. It’s the reason why people refinance their homes. This isn’t the reason to question the Mets finances and motives. The reason to question the Mets finances is how they handle their payroll.
Sure, they’ll tell you they added $9 million in payroll, but the Mets have saved a lot more than that. The Mets are still in the bottom third in payroll. They’re not spending like a New York team. This team has holes, notably the bullpen.
Accordingly, I ask you that next time you’re told something by this team, whether by press release or by feeding it to various news outlets, question the information. While this team can’t afford much, it does seem they’ve been able to obtain good press coverage.
I guess winning does cure all ills . . . including the financial ones.
After a number of bad outings, the Mets decided it was time to make a change. Logan Verrett is going to take Bobby Parnell‘s place in the bullpen.
It was decided that Parnell would go on the DL with arm fatigue. This is a good move because Parnell had been effective earlier in the year, and he probably just needed some time off. It’s good the Mets didn’t DFA him because you don’t throw away a potential asset.
What this also signals to me is how the Mets have mismanaged the innings limits of their young pitchers. Look at how easy that was. Just throw a guy on the DL. No real excuse needed. If they did this at some other time, like when Matt Harvey had some rough outings, we wouldn’t be talking about reintroducing the six man rotation in September.
Instead, we would be talking about what to do with Bartolo Colon. We would be talking about whether Steven Matz should go to the bullpen. No, we are instead talking about who’s going to be the seventh inning reliever. It’s too late in the season to leave this unanswered.
It’s also the result of uninspired thinking. The Mets never truly pivoted from the failures of Vic Black and the suspensions of Jenrry Mejia.
Hopefully, Verrett, a player the Mets were alright subjecting to the Rule 5 draft, will be the seventh inning answer. I would like the Mets to consider Matz. I wouldn’t rule out Parnell once he decides his arm no longer hurts.
Look the main purpose of this blog is my reflections on the Mets as I’m raising my son to hopefully become a Mets fan. Here’s some advice I’m giving my son in the future:
- Stick to your guns;
- Don’t rush to judgment, and
- Hips Don’t Lie.
We’re now beginning to find out Carlos Gomez’s hip issue was a “just a red herring.” It appears the issues for the Mets might’ve been financial . . . as it always is.
Apparently, the Mets wanted to include Juan Lagares in the deal, who is a better player than Wilmer Flores, due to financial concerns. For their part, the Brewers didn’t want Lagares because of his questionable health. So the Mets then relented and agreed to trade Flores until they didn’t.
The Mets then called the Brewers to include money in the deal. Presumably because the was a fair value deal, the Brewers balked. They have Gomez under contract next year so they don’t need to make a rushed panic decision. Apparently after the overtures for more money were turned down, the Mets discovered Gomez’s hip issue.
Who do we believe? I do think there is some merit to the point that no one went on record. However, Tom Haudricourt is the Brewers beat writer, and accordingly, I presume he knows which sources he can trust and not trust. I don’t know his reputation or his work, so I’m not going to begin besmirching him now.
There may be some merit this came down the next day after Boras is on the rampage over the hip issue. Keep in mind it was Haudricourt, himself, has reported on Gomez’s hip issues. However, if the hip was such an issue, why is Gomez playing everyday?
Now, let’s move onto the Mets. Can they be trusted? This should be met with a loud and resounding NO! Time and time again, this organization has lied about its financial wherewithal only to not spend a dime. They have been so arrogant as to say they need more attendance to increase payroll. They’ve gone so far to question Mets’ fandom that they sent out a loyalty oath.
Furthermore, the Mets needed the Oakland A’s of all teams pick up money in the Tyler Clippard deal. In exchange, the Mets gave up way too much value in a potential future ace in Casey Meisner. It’s absurd. The rumors of Lagares’ potential inclusion in this deal over Flores only fans the flames.
The Mets say there’s money to add a significant contract. I said yesterday adding Gomez doesn’t add a significant contract. First off, Gomez’s contract is a relative bargain. Second, if they acquired Gomez, it would’ve been an excuse as to why they can’t reinvest Colon’s $11 million coming off the books (oh and they’ll pocket $2 million). Third, they’ve said money from Wright’s injury and Mejia’s suspensions that they have not fully reinvested yet.
At this point, I really do not know who to believe. While we have a million reasons not to believe the Mets, the fact remains Gomez had a hip issue that merited an MRI. Maybe the Mets saw a hip issue and thought if the Brewers don’t give us some financial support, we have to walk. I wonder if the Brewers are trying to preserve Gomez’s trade value. I wonder if there is an honest dispute over Gomez’s hip. I wonder what the Mets and Brewers do next.
The one thing I know is true is the Mets are dangerously close to losing their good will with the fan base.
How stupid can you possibly be? Jenrry Mejia became the first person in Major League history to be suspended twice in one season under MLB’s stiffer policy for PED use. You would’ve thought after the first suspension, he would’ve tried to conceal his usage.
I used to really like Mejia. I was angry at Jerry Manuel for setting his career back. I didn’t think the Mets gave him a fair shake in the rotation last year. However, I became impressed how he adapted to the bullpen. He finished last year with 28 saves. He looked poised to become the closer for years to come. Ideally, Jeurys Familia and Bobby Parnell would be be his setup men for a terrific 7-8-9 tandem.
While warming up in the bullpen on Opening Day, he felt pain in his elbow. As he was being placed on the DL, he was getting suspended for 80 games. Between that suspension and his latest suspension, it appears I was wrong about him.
I don’t want him on the Mets. I don’t want to raise someone who roots for cheaters. I don’t want to say to my son we shouldn’t root for Mejia because he cheats, but I’m cheering right now because he helped the Mets. I’m not a fan of moral equivalence, and I don’t like being put in that situation.
I applaud The 7 Line for donating the Mejia t-shirts rather than profit from their sale. I only wish Sandy Alderson had this type of moral courage.
You see Sandy LOVES his steroid guys. He built those great A’s teams with steroids guys. (for the record he denied knowing this even though Tony LaRussa said it was well known). He signed Bartolo Colon. Colon missed a steroids suspension while playing for the Mets on a technicality. He signed Marlon Byrd. There are others, but I’m not going to belabor the point.
Sandy’s reaction? He stated, “[t]here is a tremendous amount of disappointment, to some extent anger.” The Mets’ front office is “ticked off” at Mejia’s suspension. Given his history, he doesn’t have the right to this reaction. I think they’re only upset he got caught.
Don’t believe me? Then tell me why Mejia hadn’t been released yet? He’s no longer an asset. He’s one suspension away from being gone from the game. If the Mets truly care about steroids enough to be “ticked off,” they should send a message and release him.
I’m all for repentance and rehabilitation. I agreed Mejia had his suspension and his right to return to the Mets. If he was clean, he should be allowed to play. He’s shown no interest in playing clean. He needs to be booted off the team.