Jenrry Mejia's second failed drug test came during first suspension

Mets reliever Jenrry Mejia's second failed drug test came during his first suspension, ESPN's T.J. Quinn is reporting. That means that the relief pitcher was still using steroids prior to the expiration of his initial 80-game suspension that began on Opening Day 2015.

Mejia was suspended for the second time yesterday after testing positive for a banned substance and has received a 162-game ban from baseball, making him the second player to receive such a ban after Alex Rodriguez. Suspended for 80 games on April 11, Mejia only returned to the roster on July 12. He's pitched 7.1 innings with seven strike outs and no earned runs.

In light of Mejia's suspension, the Mets trade for Tyler Clippard becomes even more valuable, providing the team with a reliable late-inning reliever and allowing Jeurys Familia to remain the closer, a position in which he has flourished since being thrust into it early in the season.

"Not surprisingly, there's a tremendous amount of disappointment -- I think to some extent anger, to some extent amazement -- that this could happen so soon after a previous suspension was completed," general manger Sandy Alderson said on Tuesday.