Jenrry Mejia

From MetsBlog, talking about Josh Beckett's contract extension: "…it’s pretty clear, if you want an ace, or a ‘legit No. 2,’ a team must either trade top prospects to bring him in, or develop him on their own…"

At a time when Jenrry Mejia should be donning a Binghamton Mets jersey and preparing for his Opening Day assignment against Akron on Thursday, he is instead in the back of Jerry Manuel's bullpen having his development stunted.

Relievers are made, not born. It's an old-school way of thinking, but I truly believe that every pitcher should be given an opportunity to fail as a starter before being converted into a reliever. By pre-emptively putting Mejia in the bullpen based on 15 Spring Training innings, the Mets are crippling his potential to develop secondary pitches and to blossom into a top-flight starter.