The Red Sox have inked a minor-league deal with former MLB reliever Jenrry Mejia, according to Jon Heyman of Fancred (Twitter link). He’ll head to Spring Training (though not MLB camp, Heyman notes) in search of a comeback from a lengthy absence — one that was occasioned by his own incredibly poor decisionmaking. The contract would pay him $625K in the Majors, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets.
Mejia, of course, was once a key late-inning reliever for the Mets. That all changed when he was mind-numbingly popped for PED-related violations on three occasions, leading to a lifetime ban. While commissioner Rob Manfred ultimately lifted that prohibition, Mejia is now long removed from his big league career. The 29-year-old last appeared on the MLB mound in the middle of the 2015 season.
Before he cost himself a major chunk of his prime, Mejia had shown some interesting abilities on the bump. After failing to exhibit quite enough as a starter to earn a full chance in the New York rotation, he slid comfortably into the team’s bullpen in 2014. Over 56 1/3 relief innings that year, he worked to a 2.72 ERA with a 60:21 K/BB ratio. Mejia ultimately took the closer’s job, locking down 28 games.
Just what’s left in the tank isn’t known, but the Red Sox will take a shot on the talent of the enigmatic right-hander. That the defending World Series champs have now added Mejia while otherwise waiting out the relief market is sure to draw some curious glances, from both fans who’d like to see more additions and from those on the players side that believe teams need to be spending more money. Obviously, this sort of move will not itself preclude the Boston powerhouse from making further acquisitions, but the timing certainly creates some interesting juxtapositions.
Eyyyyy!
George Burns and John Denver are LTAO in heaven: Oh God!
So Pete Rose gets a real life time ban but this clown can screw up 3 times and come back? Good job MLB…
Todd76……
There is no such thing as a “real life time ban”. There is the “permanently ineligible” list laid out in the MLB rules (21) for Misconduct (which has stood the test of time). That is the fate Rose agreed to. Then there is the “permanent suspension” laid out in Section 7 E. Two different penalties for two different violations.
Clown #1 (Rose) knew he was breaking the rules and thought he was above them. Clown #2 (Mejia) was just plain stupid.
I wish that someday a 3rd violation of the JDA results in “permanently ineligible” instead of the lesser.
Cat….nice try. Todd makes a valid point. Lifting Mejia’s ban this quick was too easy.
I don’t agree with letting him back in but what I stated is fact like it or not. I would rather see a “3rd strike” result in the player being placed on the permanently ineligible list but that is not the case.
Read for yourself….link to JDA link to mlbplayers.com
It’s amazing. Even Steve Howe from Yankees in 80’s, early 90’s kept getting 2nd Chances. His issue was addiction but back then it wasn’t considered a disease.
A-rod, Pettite, Cano, Manny R are all cheaters and have mite access then Rose and are On HOF ballet.
Rose gambling today would be treated as an addiction and disease as I have a degree in Addiction science. He must have rubbed the wrong people the wrong way. And didn’t he admit to gambling? If he didn’t admit it fully then I get it, but Cano didn’t admit it. He used the same line all PEad users say- I didn’t take it on purpose. Please!!
I guess lifetime band only exist for a few. They should change name though-,maybe the “Scree You” ban until u kids Manfredi’s ring
Pete Rose accepted his punishment and accepted his HOF into the wwf hall of fame for 2 maybe 3 appearances..he has that to fall back on lol
Chris Giarraputo………
If an MLB player walks into a Vegas casino and bets on an MLB game in a legal sports book he receives a one year placement on the ineligible list. If a player walks into a Vegas sports book and bets on a game he will be involved in he goes on the permanently ineligible list. Same goes for umps, coaches, managers and MLB/team officials, disease or not.
As someone with ” degree in Addiction science” you should know that even though PED’s don’t produce the euphoric state most commonly associated with addiction a growing number of studies and agencies are looking at chronic users of PED’s as addicts.
Having the disease of addiction is not a “get of of jail free card” and Rose earned his ineligibility. BTW, he didn’t admit to gambling until 15 years later when he knew it would sell his book. Nevertheless he did sign a legally binding agreement and accepted his fate.
Your argument is flawed and I say that not only on the basis of fact but also as a recovering alcoholic/addict going on day number 8861
When you’re a hammer everything looks like a nail
The agreement Rose made was to accept a lifetime ban with no finding that he bet on baseball. Giamatti violated that agreement the next day saying that Rose bet on baseball…..Rose did what he did but let’s not pretend that the baseball establishment has treated him fairly
Pete rose gambled on the game he played/coached. He deserves that ban because it screws with the integrity of the game.
There’s their new closer
Better off with 71-year old Kent Tekulve.
Ain’t Hoyt Wilhelm and Wilbur (Mr. Ed) Wood available?
Kent’s gonna need help getting from the bench to his Walker and on to the warm-up Mound, then getting in and out of the cart to make it out to the Diamond.. Hoyt and Wilbur oughtta be experienced in those areas by now, if they’re still foggin’ a mirror
Too bad Bill “soupman” Campbell wasn’t playing today. Medical science could have wonders. There were many who threw harder but few whose fastball danced more than his. Boy did it move. For those who don’t remember, he was Boston’s first ever free agent signing in 1977.
Soup was terrific!
stud. way to go DD
hmm, i wouldve expected him to try his hand at the NPB first. Dont know if he can provide much value this year with as much layoff as he has had.
He’s been playing in other leagues. Probably going to wind up being a solid pickup.
Not a bad minor league signing…provide him with some clean piss and he is good to go
Lmfao…Too funny!!
Why exactly was his life time suspension lifted again?
That’s what I’m thinking.
The short answer is there is a difference between “Permanent suspension from Major League and Minor League Baseball” as outlined in the JDA Article 7. Discipline – A. Performance Enhancing Substance Violations – 3. Third violation and permanently ineligible as cited in Rule 21 – Misconduct..The long answer lies within the JDA definition. Link to JDA….link to mlbplayers.com
Yada, yada, yada. Cite all the links and legal bs you can find, still doesn’t justify this decision by Commish. This is a precedent that will cause problems in the future! It basically eliminates life-time bans.
If you would read and understand the difference you would know how wrong your statement is but I guess that is a little too much to ask.
They probably think he “learned his lesson” after being banned for a few years
Because we really don’t live in a world with real consequences.
link to nypost.com
this article explains it. basically it’s built into the system according to the collective bargaining agreement. maybe it was an inevitability.
This post article has him on record denying using. 1 time, maybe a bad test but 3 the odds are very high
So a “Lifetime” is four years.
“Jenrry Mejia” is a name that makes me mad because Mejia proves “Lifetime ban” is a misnomer.
Who’d have thought this day and age, leniency’s granted to those who break “three times you’re out” PED policy?
If by some miracle he ends up pitching well, you’ll be first one salivating and begging for the Yankees to get him. It’s not like the Yankees have ever had a problem employing juiced players.
Or domestic violence offenders…
The Red Sox have never had a problem with juiced players either
What a pointless back and forth. Every team has employed “juiced players.”
I don’t know guys ask Pete Rose about it!
badco44……Not the same rule and not the same penalty
Life time ban is in and of it’s self a misnomer as that phrase does not exist in baseball. In the JDA it is a “permanent suspension” with caveats described in the definition.
In the MLB Rules for “Misconduct” a player etc is declared “permanently ineligible”
If the MLBPA/MLB would agree that a 3rd strike placed the player on the “permanently ineligible” list it would have more clout.
As it stands there have been many articles written by lawyers (especially after Mejia’s 3rd strike) wondering if the “permanent suspension” would hold up considering the wording in the JDA.
A 4 year ban in the prime of your career is a pretty steep penalty. He’ll have to lay off the juice if he ever wants to continue being a ML ball player so I don’t really have a problem with this. If he can stay clean then he should have every chance to pitch. He’ll be getting tested more than anyone.
4 years is not a lifetime. Write that down.
If he can come back after 4 years off in his prime good for him. The odds are stacked agaainst him and he cost himself millions if not 10’s of millions of Dollars.
If you’re the kid from Pet Semetary. Then yea
Sometimes dead is better…
I believe the 3rd positive was from residuals of the 2nd failed test
makes me feel better
“I believe the 3rd positive was from residuals of the 2nd failed test”…..
See section 3 – Testing – H Multiple Disciplines for the Same Use then see 8 -Appeals – C. Procedures for Appeal of a Positive Test Result for a Performance Enhancing Substance or a Second and Subsequent Positive Test Result for a Stimulant or DHEA – 1 (a) through (c)
link to mlbplayers.com
Hard to have it happen anymore with IRMS testing
Part of me hopes he fails another test just to be another thing to point at Manfred being an idiot.
And yet Pete rose is still banned. Celebrating 30 years this August
I know! That’s ridiculous!
Oh boy is this comment so dumb, Rose bet on baseball and is an alleged rapist.
A: Pete Rose bet on himself. He bet on himself to do good. Of all the players who have been caught in betting scandals, Rose stands out because of who he bet on. B: Rose was never found guilty of it. It was allegation, and nothing more.
Exactly.
So stupid
LMAO at such lunacy. He’s admitted things only when he got cornered or thought there was a financial gain it it for himself. I’d rather be a great person than a great athlete.
mlb1225
The Rule does not say it’s OK to bet on your own team (I will post it if you like) and Rose knew that. It’s the only rule that is required to be posted in every single club house and he had to see it literally thousands of times but he chose to ignore it because he was Pete Rose. He signed an agreement that states “Peter Edward Rose acknowledges that the Commissioner has a factual basis to impose the penalty provided herein, and hereby accepts the penalty imposed on him by the Commissioner and agrees not to challenge that penalty in court or otherwise. He also agrees he will not institute any legal proceedings of any nature against the Commissioner of any of his representatives, either Major League or any Major League Club.”
He also admitted to having relations with at least one young girl. His defense was “I thought she was 16” (the legal age of consent in OH) when in fact she was 14-15
He does not deserve the HoF
Pete Rose SAYS he only bet on himself. He accepted a lifetime ban in return for the investigation being ceased.
If everything that happened were out in the open already, do you think he would voluntarily accept the ban? Absolutely not. He would have fought it because there would be no other dirt to find.
Revisionist history is bad – and there are too many people here pushing complete fabrications of what went down..
22 volumes of evidence including betting slips, checks that corroborated sworn statements, phone records etc. Tell me how he would have fought it.
He broke the rule plain and simple and he even admitted he did (when he decided he could make money from his book).
He deserves his “prison without bars”.
I’ve also seen it alleged he bet against his own team when Soto started. As Rose was the manager at the time, it seems worthy of the lifetime ban, if true.
ummmm there’s no proof that he didn’t bet one way or the other. he said he never bet to lose but what’s the value of his word?
Alleged
Forgot the disgusting statutory rape allegation.
What about Roger Clemens having a long term affair with a minor will he be treated the same
That was a “miner”
Rose should still be banned. Mejia cheated but Rose could have injured players by pitching them too much all for a wager. With the gambling explosion across the U.S., it’s only a matter of time before a player, ref or manager are again accused.
Could have but did he? No. Move along.
The defense that all drunk drivers give when they make it home safely. Try again.
Agreed Dan. I never understood the logic of penalizing based on damages. An attempted murderer gets less time because he has bad aim?
Rose is a degenerate bum, who can’t keep his trap shut. that’s why he’s not back in
Insert comment on domestic violence policy vs PED policy.
What a joke…
This is why I think there is still some chance for the steroid guys to get elected. Either the writers or the veterans committee will vote them in. But oh no, Pete Rose can’t get in because he placed a bet for his team to win. Ridiculous!
PED users have hurt the game so much. Stats mean far less today. I use Papi as an example. The day he’s enshrined is the last day I read or write anything about the HOF. He may be a good person but I believe he cheated the game. Players using PEDs helped escalate contracts and in the end it’s us fans who pay the freight. Others try to compare usage to greenies. Big difference to me is the former had and still has everyone hiding their usage whereas greenies were authorized by team physicians and placed in bowls for players to take.
So you believe things without good evidence. That’s nice. And before you say it, no, the leaked BALCO results are not good evidence.
Credibility Dan. Ever been on a jury? Verdicts are supposed to only be based on the evidence but evidence includes ones credibility. HOF criteria is supposed to include integrity. Every contract has a moral clause. So many great players from other generations whose stats now don’t look as good. If I had my say, I wouldn’t allow any of the stats from 1994 to 2004 to count. Even those who didn’t use, certainly knew and could have helped clean up the sport. Where would baseball be if Congress didn’t force the issue? Imagine what Congress could do today if they wanted to work together? Sadly, even then the sides seemed grouped by party.
Also, greenies only made you alert (like 5 hour Energy does today). They didn’t make you stronger or increase your recovery time after an injury.
Ruff Kuntry……
“he placed a bet for his team to win.” A bet? A BET? Never read any part of the Dowd Report did ya?
I know it’s long (225 pages and 22 volumes of evidence kept at the HoF) so if you don’t want to read the report it’s self at least read this and see if you feel the same.
link to seanlahman.com
Thank you for the link.
Happy to help.
So many think that he innocently bet on a few games not realizing he was betting thousands a day, every day. They don’t realize he was threatened by NYC mob bookies or that he stood on the top step of the dugout for one reason…..so he could see the scoreboard and keep track of his bets.
They try to oversimplify it so much as well. Even if he only did bet on his team, he could’ve managed much differently than he would’ve if he hadn’t bet.
In a way he did. He bet on the Reds everyday except when a certain pitcher played (the name escapes me ATM and I don’t think I could find it quickly).
There was a time during a long home stand that the scoreboard was out of order in Cincy. Rose was so concerned with his bets that he paid his bookie to sit in a certain section/seat where Rose could see him. Rose would then hand signal the bookie and he would go to the public phones and call a sports hotline for scores. When the bookie would return to his seat he would signal Rose as to whether he was up or down with his bets. Does that sound like a focused manager?
Though what he did was obviously wrong, I would elect him to the Hall before steroid users who plain and simple cheated by inflating their stats. That is my point.
I wouldn’t elect either.
Unfortunately, as I have pointed out, there is a difference between the two disciplinary actions. One is Permanent Suspension and one is Permanently Ineligible.
One has stood the test of time and the other is word in such a way that a player can come back and not allowing him to could be challenged and most likely overturned.
I understand your side. I would agree with you only if a steroid user never gets in the Hall. If Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, or any other steroid user gets in the Hall Pete Rose needs to be in there purely stats alone. And this Mejia news helps HOF steroid candidates in my opinion.
Using steroids CAN affect the outcome of the game MORE than what Rose did.
Are you out of your mind, Ruff? Managing allows you to choose who plays and who doesn’t.
This signing could really help the Red Sox. A lifetime ban? Or a joke?
Fire up the duckboats!
Yet Rose and Shoeless Joe are still banned and this loser gets another shot at millions more. It’s almost as big of a joke as Bud Selig being in the Hall of Fame.
As big of a joke as Judas Priest not being in the rock hall of fame before Bon Jovi.
or the biggest joke in music – Jethro Tull winning first heavy metal grammy over Metallica’s “and justice for all”
Shoeless is different. He was never determined to have done anything wrong and should be enshrined posthumously.
I agree, he is not even close to the garbage Rose is.
Not sure he’s got the credentials to be a Hall of Famer anyway. He only really played 10 full seasons. He’s got the .356 lifetime average going for him, but that was a different time. Even his .408 average in 1911 didn’t lead the league. A case could be made either way, I guess.
DD on his way to refashion Boston’s BP after Detroits.
Excellent signing. No risk high upside
No risk, likely no upside is more like it.
if you have no morals, yes
No risk is all that matters
As a Sox fan, I’m not a fan of this pick up. 3 strikes and you’re out bro.
Why call it a lifetime ban if it’s not at all a lifetime ban? The rules are in place for a reason, this just gives players more reason to try cheating. They payout is probably worth a fake lifetime ban for a lot of people.
Bad move, idc if he’s unhittable, the Sox don’t need the PR attention.
Lifetime ban should be for life, 3 strikes you’re out! Simple as that.
Guarantee this guy magically starts trying now that’s he on the Sox. Had no problem stealing from the Mets that’s for sure.
New closer LOL
WTF
What the heck are the Sox doing? The epitome of the win at all cost mentality. Weak.
$$ 635,000 that is why
Why would you give a guy a job that shouldn’t have been allowed back in
He’ll hit it off nicely with guest instructor Papi.
I can’t wait to see the return of the Mejia Stomp!
there will be a little drug test section of the clubhouse, right next to the buffet. It’ll be fantastic!
I hear Steve Howe is his agent, and will be wearing Mejia’s uni and pitching for him on the days he gets popped this year. Remember, Howe got SEVEN chances, meaning he was POPPED at least 6 times and rehabbed with most of Hollywood at one time or another. Maybe people won’t recognize he throws left handed when he subs for Mejia…tell people he trained with Pat Venditte and is now Bi-Steroid, meaning he could give himself shots with either hand.
But I digress…
One was an cocaine addict, the other one just a regular moron. Also Howe – Left handed, caucasian, 30+ years older, & dead. Besides that…
One question…did you actually take any of that SERIOUSLY? LMFAO!! I’ll send you a sense of humor for Christmas
This is the same team that threw at A-Rod because of PEDs, right? I guess they got over the self righteous indignation once there was something to gain.
Threw at A-Rod BECAUSE of PEDs?? Huh?? Please stop.
@flapkack55, Instead of insulting, learn history.
Yup. Forgot **** threw at Arod. Ryan Dempster? threw at ARod, cuz mad Arod fought 211 game suspension? (Downgraded from “lifetime ” mlb initially sought for Arod) these were dark times, now look at him; Romo in the broadcast booth. And he maintains a special relationship with Hal.
Anyway…
A video’s worth a 1000 words. Dempster a punk, even tho he willingly retired and forfeited $13M…
link to m.youtube.com
This is actually a good signing. Low risk and If the guy keeps his act together, actually has some pretty good stuff
There’s one huge thing people making the ‘Rose should be in!” argument, that’s being forgotten/ignored:
Pete Rose accepted a lifetime ban to stop the investigation from continuing.
Why would someone accept a LIFETIME ban, voluntarily, if all the dirt had been found already?
Pete Rose is a known liar – yet his excusers relentlessly point to him saying “I only bet on my Team” as if it’s gospel. It’s not.
Busted 3 times, still gets to play. Mejia is trash, MLB is a joke.
As a Mets fan, this is a good signing… But if a lifetime suspension only lasts 3 years then what’s the point of calling it “lifetime”?
It’s a good value signing with upside. If I were a Sox fan I’d be pissed at this being the highlight of the offseason for the bullpen. With all your people being FA in the next year or 2 this is your time.
Everyone deserves a second….I mean a third…..look man, everyone deserves some chances. Even if he screws up a 4th time, he’s only 29, so another lifetime ban still gets him back in the game at like 34.
I’m still waiting to see if Holland signs with someone. His numbers with Washington were solid.
I smell comeback player of the year??
Sorry that’s not what you smell. I had a lot of Taco Bell and boy is it killing everything it comes in contact with. I feel like the Peanuts character pigpen except I’m not dirty I just fart a lot.
Maybe he can get big Papi’s supplier so he won’t get caught.
Nothing like watching guys defend drug cheats against gamblers. I can’t decide which moral standard to side with here….
MLB looks weak regardless of the rationale for letting Mejia back. It’s a lifetime ban. Lift Mejia’s ban, lift Rose’s ban. Justifying one over the other is a waste of time because MLB has a history of showing leniency to PED users (Braun, Ryan and others), and even other drugs in the past. Glad to see a zero tolerance policy for gamblers but not for drugs?
That aside, good low risk gamble by the Red Sox.
What’s gonna happen when he fails another drug test. Which would be his 4th. Will it be a permanent lifetime ban time. Since they gave him another chance for the 4th tine.
“Lifetime ban” was lifted why?
Remember when Pete Rose dressed as the chicken and went after Kane. That was funny.