Bullpen door won’t necessarily swing open for Mejia when he returns from ban

THE METS are ready to move on without Jenrry Mejia, and nothing is guaranteed for him when he comes back.

When the closer’s 80-game suspension for violating MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program is over, he won’t be walking back into his role closing games in the ninth inning — and even his spot in the bullpen could be up in the air.

“That definitely is a consideration,” Sandy Alderson told the Daily News. “It will be factored in when he comes back.”

While the ninth inning is being pieced together right now, the Mets are looking for Jeurys Familia to step up into the role or for Bobby Parnell to take it back when he comes off the disabled list. Either way Alderson does not think Mejia — who will also be suspended for the postseason, if the Mets qualify — factors into that decision.

“I hope our bullpen is pitching so well there is not a spot for him,” Alderson said. “I hope he is not a factor.”

He described himself as “shocked” when he was told of Mejia’s positive test.

“As you can imagine, I was disappointed and unhappy,” Alderson said. “It was a big mistake, but that’s not going to slow us down.”

Around the club the initial shock over Mejia’s suspension has faded into anger.

“Yeah, I am pissed. He let all of us down,” one Met said privately. “This is a guy we were counting on and he’s left us trying to find a closer.

“I don’t understand it. He wasn’t trying to make a team — he had a contract for 2 million dollars.”

Mejia, who had 28 saves last season, tested positive for Stanozolol, an anabolic steroid that is more commonly known under

the name Winstrol. It came to public notoriety when Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson was busted for it at the 1988 Olympics.

Mejia is the fourth pitcher so far this season that has tested positive for it. Minnesota’s Ervin Santana, Seattle’s David Rollins and Atlanta’s Arodys Vizcaino also tested positive.

On Monday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, speaking at Toronto’s home opener, said baseball will try to determine if there is a link between the four cases.

“Other than the similarity of substance, I have no reason to believe right now that they’re connected,” Manfred said. “Having said this, whenever we have a series of tests for a single substance, we undertake an investigative effort to determine whether there’s a connection and what that connection might be.

“If you look back, the very beginning of Biogenesis was the fact that we had a series of testosterone positives that began our investigative process, so we’ll follow that same model.”

As for Mejia, the Mets are not considering releasing him, but are unsure where he factors into their future.

The Mets will give Familia every chance to lock down the closer job in the next few weeks. He picked up a two-out save Sunday in Atlanta and came back to get his second save Monday with a scoreless ninth.