Jenrry Mejia Moving to Bisons Bullpen

By Matt Musico
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Well, looks like the transformation from starting games to relieving them is in full swing for the rehabbing Jenrry Mejia. Since his promotion to Triple-A, Mejia has been throwing the ball very well, showing that he’s recovered nicely from Tommy John Surgery last May. News broke over the weekend that Mejia will be removed from Buffalo’s starting rotation, receive four days off, then will join the bullpen, participating in a throwing program that was designed by the organization.

Mejia has made seven starts through three levels of the minor leagues as he continues to strengthen his arm and gets ready to help out

the Mets at the Major League level. As he’s moved through the system, he has gotten stronger, with most dominant showing coming for the Bisons, throwing 16 innings (three starts), only allowing eight hits and four walks. He’s also struck out seven hitters and holds a 1.13 ERA. The opposition is hitting .145 off the young right-hander in Triple-A, and his switch in roles show that his likely promotion to New York is imminent.

This is a solid move for the Mets because they obviously need all the help they can get. Even though errors were the main driver in securing the sweep at the hands of the Yankees yesterday, all five of their runs were scored after the sixth inning. That’s been a trend all year that needs to stop, and New York is currently boasting the worst bullpen ERA in the league, standing at 5.59. If this trend continues during this tough stretch of games, it will be unlikely to see the Mets stay above .500 and in contention in the NL East.

Tim Byrdak, Bobby Parnell, and Frank Francisco have been doing a good job of late, but the rest of the ‘pen seems to continually let down the rest of the team on a regular basis. There needs to be some sort of consistency, and the poor performances of Jon Rauch and Elvin Ramirez specifically haven’t helped. It will be interesting to see how Pedro Beato looks once he gets into a ballgame, but the arrival of Mejia to the Mets bullpen can’t come soon enough.

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