Former New York Mets reliever Jenrry Mejia said Friday he plans to appeal the permanent suspension by Major League Baseball after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs for a third time.
"I will stay here to fight to clear my name and play baseball", Mejia said during a news conference with his lawyer, Vincent White, in New York.
Mejia and the players association never appealed the third suspension, so he may still have the right to appeal his case to an independent arbitrator, a source told ESPN's Adam Rubin.
The 26-year-old Dominican pitcher received a lifetime ban in February after testing positive for Boldenone.