Free agent with a David Stearns connection is a NY Mets offseason match with a twist

The Winter League has been a tryout of sorts for the New York Mets this offseason. Anderson Severino and Daniel Duarte are two examples of pitchers the team added, in part, based on a successful Winter League showing.

Fans should be scouting the Winter League for potential fits. X user Masterflip_ shared one of his usual strong and original takes (you don't have to agree with him but he does his homework and gets an A+ for originality) when he took notice of a player performing well this offseason in the Dominican Winter League with a connection to David Stearn, JC Mejia.

As Masterflip_ pointed out, Mejia is a fascinating free agent whose 2023 ended with a 162-game suspension for PED use while he was a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. Stearns traded 2024 Cleveland Guardians All-Star David Fry for him in March 2022. Because it was the second time in his career, he got a full year’s worth of a suspension. Would the Mets dare sign him to a contract and allow him to serve out that year-long suspension with the hope of getting something from him in 2027?

Signing JC Mejia isn’t much different than other things the Mets are doing with their depth chart

The Mets haven’t been shy about signing players to two-year minor league deals this offseason or even paying players to sit out a year while rehabbing. Tylor Megill will get $2.5 million from the Mets this year just to work his way back from Tommy John surgery. Last offseason, the Mets signed Adbert Alzolay knowing he’d be out for all of 2025. The two-year deal will give him a shot to return to the field for the Mets in 2026.

Mejia hasn’t had success in the majors, pitching to an 8.32 ERA. In the Winter League, he has a 1.01 ERA in 26.2 innings of work with just over a strikeout per inning.

He has dominated in foreign leagues, owning a 2.27 ERA in 154.1 total innings. He has pitched in the Dominican Republic and Mexico since the suspension. If he’s going to ever get back to the majors, someone is going to need to have the willingness to bite some salary for a year although that can be easily rectified with a bare minimum contract.

The Mets already have a history with a J. Mejia getting suspended for PEDs. Jenrry Mejia was the first to receive a lifetime ban for 3-positive tests for PED usage. He was reinstated in 2018, but never pitched in the majors again.

Morally, there’s nothing keeping the Mets from signing Mejia. Frankie Montas, Jorge Polanco, and Pablo Reyes are all Stearns additions who were suspended for PEDs in the past. It’s a matter of liking Mejia and being able to wait.