Like many of his peers, the young right-handed will have an innings limit with the Mets this year.
Jenrry Mejia will make his seventh start of the season for the Mets in their series opener with the Phillies this evening at Citi Field. This afternoon, manager Terry Collins said that the 24-year-old right-hander will probably be limited to 120-ish innings this season.
Through 32⅔ innings, Mejia has a 5.23 ERA with 34 strikeouts and 17 walks and five home runs. He has struggled with control and the long ball, as you can tell, and some are already suggesting that the Mets should convert him to a closer. It seems silly to make that kind of declaration after only six starts, but column inches and Twitter timelines aren't going to fill themselves now, will they?
Mejia threw just 49 innings between the majors and minors in 2013, missing time due to elbow inflammation and bone spurs. His talent is undeniable, but injuries and inconsistency have haunted his young big league career to date.