Mets send down Mejia and call up Parnell

The boxscore shows that Jenrry Mejia delivered a perfect seventh inning Sunday in a 4-0 loss to the Yankees. Another meaningless appearance in another nondescript loss had become a pointless role for the Mets' top pitching prospect. But the team's decision-makers finally moved to change that pattern by announcing after the game that Mejia has been optioned to Double-A Binghamton, where he will be used as a starter and make his debut Wednesday.

"It was the right time to get him down there and continue his development," general manager Omar Minaya said. "I thought he's done very well, but we see him long term as a starter. We feel comfortable there has been some development up here and he has helped us in different situations. This is just another step for him - to help him and the team long term."

The decision to put Mejia, 20, on the Opening Day roster as a middle reliever was a controversial topic from the moment Jerry Manuel began lobbying for him in spring training. Manuel, eyeing his mediocre bullpen, raved about Mejia's 97-mph cutting fastball, which he dared to compare to the signature pitch of Mariano Rivera.

But the plan to gradually slide Mejia into a more significant late-inning role never materialized and he was left to waste away in mop-up duty for the season's first 10 weeks. Mejia was 0-2 with a 3.25 ERA and had almost as many walks (15) as strikeouts (17) in 272/3 innings in 30 appearances. Not only was Mejia of limited value at the major-league level but his growth as a pitching prospect was being stunted.

"I've been playing this game a while," catcher Rod Barajas said, "and for me, if you're going to develop, you're going to develop in the minor leagues. It's all about results right now. We're trying to win.

"I'm not saying Jenrry can't help us win at this time. But when you have blowout games and you have a pitcher out there struggling with his command and walking guys, it drains you. It's tough to develop guys at this level when you're a good ballclub and contending."

That ultimately became the conflict that forced Minaya's hand, as well as the possibility of using Mejia as a trade chip before the July 31 non-waivers deadline. The Mets are reluctant to deal Mejia, especially for a rental such as the Mariners' Cliff Lee, but he could become a factor in trade discussions. Mejia himself seemed happy with the decision and was sent to Binghamton to be paired with pitching coach Mark Brewer.

"I want to be a starting pitcher," Mejia said.

For the short term, the Mets called up Bobby Parnell - another hard thrower once considered a can't-miss prospect - from Triple-A Buffalo as a replacement and returned to the plan of cultivating Mejia as potential rotation help, possibly by the end of this season.

"We kind of felt that the development and the progression had kind of leveled off," Manuel said. "We thought it was a tremendous experience for him and he did pretty much everything we asked. But we feel to get him to the next level, he needs to pitch pretty much on a regular basis and work on a regular basis."

Manuel, for all his previous pleading to keep Mejia on the roster, was stuck with the difficult task of balancing his workload in the majors. While the manager wanted to use him in pivotal situations, he also was afraid of exposing him and damaging his confidence. That no longer was suitable for a Mets team with bigger goals in mind.

"When we broke camp in spring training, we had to put him on the team because of the way he was throwing," Minaya said. "He was the best reliever we had going at that time. He did help us up here and the mental development was great for him."