Brewers acquire JC Mejia from Cleveland

[markedman5]

[Madhawk23]

So, I realize this guy clearly had a tough debut in 2021 (just looking at his stats), but why is Cleveland willing to give up on him so quickly that they'd trade him away for cash? Is this strictly a 40 man roster crunch move, or is something else at play here?

[Octobercrew]

Seems like a solid signing. No real risk and some upside for sure. Thank god for Clevelands 40 man crunch.

[patrickgpe]

So, I realize this guy clearly had a tough debut in 2021 (just looking at his stats), but why is Cleveland willing to give up on him so quickly that they'd trade him away for cash? Is this strictly a 40 man roster crunch move, or is something else at play here?

They had to DFA him to clear spots on the 40.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

https://www.mlb.com/video/j-c-mejia-s-six-strikeouts

 

Some pretty nasty movement on his slider and two-seamer. Color me somewhat intrigued.

[ThisIsMyCrew]

Interesting acquire. Guy is a starting pitcher. Is he added as AAA depth? Or possible transition to pen?

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Interesting acquire. Guy is a starting pitcher. Is he added as AAA depth? Or possible transition to pen?

 

He's out of options, so this spring is "put up or shut up" time.

 

Edit: Apparently he has been granted a 4th option, per Tom Haudricourt.

Edited November 22, 2021 by Ron Robinson's Beard

[MadScientist]

Any idea on how many options remaining? Looks like he was rushed a bit last year to AAA and MLB after not being above A+ ball previously. Not surprising he struggled. Lets see if the Brewers can get him dialed in at the top levels.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Any idea on how many options remaining? Looks like he was rushed a bit last year to AAA and MLB after not being above A+ ball previously. Not surprising he struggled. Lets see if the Brewers can get him dialed in at the top levels.

 

According to a Tom H tweet just now, he was granted a rare 4th option.

[brewmann04]

Nice move get him into the Lab

[Madhawk23]

So, I realize this guy clearly had a tough debut in 2021 (just looking at his stats), but why is Cleveland willing to give up on him so quickly that they'd trade him away for cash? Is this strictly a 40 man roster crunch move, or is something else at play here?

They had to DFA him to clear spots on the 40.

 

Ah....OK. That explains it then. Thanks

[clancyphile]

I see Devin Williams insurance. Very good performance in the pen (small sample) and the slider/two-seamer combo looks nice for the late innings.

[patrickgpe]

here is a guy i would have liked them to get for just some cash

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/11/guardians-trade-harold-ramirez-cubs.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

[True Blue Brew Crew]

Seems obvious to me - he has some nastiness but not a starter's repertoire. Brewers have no need for starters so voila he goes to the pen where he can thrive off his two best pitches.

[bork]

Most of the bullpen has options for next year. Looks like we could see a lot of shuttling of relievers.

[DR28]

Stearns said Mejia was brought in as a bullpen guy.

 

He was very good out of the Indians bullpen last year… See him as one of our 7th inning guys along with Cousins and Ashby.

 

Really liking this start to our winter!

[wildcat2237]

Possible Boxberger replacement from the scrap heap.

 

Absolutely no downside here.

[RobertR]

Limited bullpen time, but it's an intriguing pickup. And one of those under the radar pickups that Stearns excels at. The Brewers are very good at giving Counsell capable options so that he can manage work loads and not give away games at the same time.

 

Worst case, it's probably a little money that won't really be missed.

[Joseph Zarr]

Another Classic Brew Crew under the radar stab w upside. Will be curious to see how this plays out.

[MadThinker88]

Seems obvious to me - he has some nastiness but not a starter's repertoire. Brewers have no need for starters so voila he goes to the pen where he can thrive off his two best pitches.

 

CLE did not have need for starters entering 2021 either...

Then Logan S Allen & Triston McKenzie struggled at the start of the year & all of Bieber- Civale- Plesac were on the Injured List starting in June..

 

I wish JC the best of luck moving forward & I think bullpen is the better place for him at this time.

[brewcrewdue80]

Boy, you can dream fairly heavy that this works out as a goldmine RP. Savant shows he has scored well with a sinker and Giving up HRs was his downfall. So find a way to keep the ball low induce grounders with the sinker. I just don't know what his 2nd pitch to throw with it would be? He'll have at least 5 years of control if he succeeds. Oh and he's definitely got the platoon splits to suggest facing RHBs.

 

Found this for 2019: Mejia was the Indians #18 prospect in top 30

 

"The latter(JC. Reference before cut out) finally made his full-season debut in 2018, impressing enough in low Class A to earn a spot on Cleveland's 40-man roster. (signed in 2013 with Francisco so that move protected on rule 5)

 

Though the Indians didn't make Mejia a full-time starter until last season, he definitely has the attributes to stay in the rotation. His heavy sinker is a plus pitch that sits at 91-94 mph, touches 96 and helped him log a 1.5 groundout/airout ratio in 2018. His curveball and slider have similar potential, and he also has feel for using his changeup.

 

Mejia is doing a better job of repeating his delivery now that he has grown into his extra-large frame, showing aptitude for commanding his breaking pitches as well as his fastball. He'll still have to prove he can handle a starter's workload after missing time last year with elbow soreness. If he can hold up, he eventually could fit in the middle of Cleveland's rotation."

 

He was one of those confusing SPs where they rate well look:

Fastball

55

Curveball

55

Slider

55

Changeup

50

Control

55

Overall

40

 

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 55 | Overall: 45

 

How do you rate 50 or above in all but then give an overall a 40-45? Also I'm not sure why there are 2 ratings in same but I assume first is preseason and 2nd midseason/end of season.

 

I'm really good with this trade, the RP upside could be 8th inning setup.

 

 

Edit add.

The link from were I found the write up on Mejia. If you went 2019 top 100 prospects he didnt appear. If you went mlb top 100 prospects and moved the year to 2019 and Guardians top 30 he appears.

https://www.mlb.com/prospects/2019/guardians/

Edited November 23, 2021 by brewcrewdue80

[JosephC]

Savant shows he has scored well with a sinker and Giving up HRs was his downfall. So find a way to keep the ball low induce grounders with the sinker.

 

His ground ball percentage was fine 47.9%, better than the league average which was about 43.0%, but his HR/FB rate was a ridiculous 24.5% (league average was about 13.5%). HR/FB rate can sometimes be a pretty flukey thing, in his case the difference between a 6.15 FIP and a 4.71 xFIP.

[True Blue Brew Crew]

Seems obvious to me - he has some nastiness but not a starter's repertoire. Brewers have no need for starters so voila he goes to the pen where he can thrive off his two best pitches.

 

CLE did not have need for starters entering 2021 either...

Then Logan S Allen & Triston McKenzie struggled at the start of the year & all of Bieber- Civale- Plesac were on the Injured List starting in June..

 

And thus Cleveland had him make 11 starts last year. Something tells me the Brewers have no intention of turning to Mejia for any starts in 2022 unless perhaps it's as an opener for an inning or two.

[JohnBriggs12]

Possible Boxberger replacement from the scrap heap.

 

Absolutely no downside here.

 

I don't see him as comparable to Boxberger who was an accomplished reliever in the big leagues looking for a rebound. I think he's depth (more like Cousins) but they need at least one veteran with both Boxberger and Strickland departed.

[Eye Black]

One thing tempering my excitement slightly about the Brewers possibly turning Mejia into a stud on the mound is the fact that Cleveland was sort of the OG’s of this current wave of improved pitching development around baseball. The point being, I can’t imagine they would’ve moved on from him if they believed they could turn him into an above average reliever.

 

Hopefully the move to the bullpen full-time will alone cause some improvement, but I’ll be curious to see if the Brewers change his pitch usage or come up with something else that significantly improves his results. Maybe Mejia will prove to be for the Brewers what Phil Bickford ended up being for the Dodgers last season.