Jenrry Mejia will need surgery after the season to remove bone spurs in elbow

What the heck? We just learned that Jenrry Mejia would be making his 2013 major league debut this Friday, and now there's news that he's going to have surgery when the season is over.

Adam Rubin of ESPN New York is reporting that Mejia knew that he needed surgery to have bone spurs removed from his pitching elbow in May, but he opted to delay the operation until after the season.

Mejia said team doctors recommended having surgery right away after discovering the spurs in May. At the time, Mejia was experiencing continued discomfort during a rehab assignment with Class A St. Lucie and had been dispatched to New York for a medical exam.

Mejia told the team doctors he wanted to finish the season, then have the procedure. He takes anti-inflammatory medication to deal with the swelling and discomfort.

In 24.2 minor league innings (six starts) this season, Mejia has 26 strikeouts, 10 walks, and a 2.55 ERA. The strikeout rate is a good sign, because last year in the minors, Mejia punched out only 55 batters in 92.2 innings. Those figures don't exactly scream major league regular, so it will be interesting to see if Mejia can continue to strike out the opposition with regularity this season.

Mets fans will get a close look at Mejia when he's added as the 26th man for Game 1 of a doubleheader on Friday versus the Nationals. Unless he's spectacular, Mejia will probably be shipped back to the minors the next day. It would be cool if he was spectacular, but then this new item would be an even bigger bummer.