Mets, Jenrry Mejia settle on 2018 salary, avoid arbitration

The Mets and relief pitcher Jenrry Mejia have settled on a $1.729 million salary for the 2018 season. Mejia has not pitched since the 2015 season, however, as he was given a lifetime ban from Major League Baseball after his third positive test for PEDs just under two years ago.

It’s possible that Mejia could be reinstated at some point, though it doesn’t seem that’s likely to happen anytime soon. Before his positive tests and that ban, he had been a good story. After struggling with injuries and disappointing performance earlier in his career, Mejia caught everyone’s attention with five great starts late in the 2013 season. He struggled in a starting role to begin the 2014 season but excelled once he was moved to the bullpen on a permanent basis.

In 56.1 innings as a reliever for the Mets that year, he had a 2.72 ERA with a 24.3% strikeout rate, an 8.5% walk rate, and a 3.15 FIP. Had he remained in the big leagues over the past two seasons, he would certainly have earned more than the salary he and the team agreed upon for 2018. It’ll be a big surprise if he ends up playing and earning any of it, but at a time when the Mets could use relief help, the news is a reminder of how disappointing things all turned out to be with Mejia.