MLB conditionally reinstates Mets’ Jenrry Mejia for 2019

Major League Baseball has announced that Mets reliever Jenrry Mejia will be reinstated from his permanent suspension for the 2019 season on a conditional basis.

Mejia, who tested positive for PEDs three times and received a lifetime ban back in 2016 under the league’s Joint Drug Agreement, will be allowed to resume participation in non-public workouts at Mets’ facilities after the All-Star break and will be eligible for a rehabilitation assignment with a Mets’ affiliate in mid-August, according to MLB.

The league added that If Mejia meets certain conditions established by Rob Manfred and the union, he will be reinstated from the Restricted List and will be eligible to resume all baseball activities beginning with 2019 Spring Training.

Mejia and the Mets both issued statements on the matter. Mejia’s statement was on behalf of the MLB Players Association.

The 28-year-old Mejia hopes he can move forward from the mistakes he made, which came within the last three years.

He first tested positive for Stanozolol in April 2015 and earned an 80 game suspension. In July of that year, he was in trouble again, testing positive for Stanozolol again and Boldenone just three weeks after his suspension ended. Then in the February 2016, he had tested positive for Boldenone again, making it a third strike on his record and forcing the MLB to ban him. Even though he was permanently suspended, the Mets retained the rights to him.

At the time, Mejia posted a record of 9-14 and 28 saves and 162 strikeouts in 183 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched across 113 appearances in his four-plus seasons with the Mets. His best season was in 2014, when he was the Mets’ closer and striking out more than a batter per inning while saving 28 games in 31 chances.