The New York Mets were told midgame on Friday night against the New York Yankees that Jeurys Familia was unavailable due to the team working on a potential trade. Well, less than 24 hours later, the trade is official, as Familia is heading to the Oakland Athletics. The deal was basically already in place on Friday night, but both teams were waiting on medical reports for all players involved. The Mets receive two prospects in return.
After starting around .500 for the first two months of the season, the A's have come on hot in the summer months, and now sit right in the middle of the Wild Card race. A solid arm in the back of their bullpen bolster their changes in the American League, as they sit four games back of the Seattle Mariners for the final Wild Card spot. They are coming off a 5-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Friday, but are lucky enough that them and the M's are the only ones currently within striking distance in the Wild Card race.
Familia has proved to be the only solid constant for the Mets, recording a total of 123 saves as their closer. The 2016 All-Star is 4-4 with 17 saves and a 2.88 ERA in 40 appearances this season. Since reaching the All-Star Game two years ago, injuries have haunted the reliever a bit. He missed a month with a sore shoulder this season, and three months last season with a blood clot in that same shoulder.
Off-the-field issues have played a role in some missed time as well, as Familia served a 15-game suspension to begin the 2017 season for violating the league's domestic violence policy stemming from an incident in 2016 with his wife.
Familia will be a free agent at the end of this season. He did express some sadness for leaving the Mets' organization, saying "it's tough for me," and added " I love this team, I love my teammates." He will have new teammates as soon as this weekend, but there is no word on how soon he'll be available for Oakland. However, one thing we do know is that he will not be their closer, as All-Star Blake Treinen has that position locked down with a 0.94 ERA and 24 saves.
After starting around .500 for the first two months of the season, the A's have come on hot in the summer months, and now sit right in the middle of the Wild Card race. A solid arm in the back of their bullpen bolster their changes in the American League, as they sit four games back of the Seattle Mariners for the final Wild Card spot. They are coming off a 5-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Friday, but are lucky enough that them and the M's are the only ones currently within striking distance in the Wild Card race.
Familia has proved to be the only solid constant for the Mets, recording a total of 123 saves as their closer. The 2016 All-Star is 4-4 with 17 saves and a 2.88 ERA in 40 appearances this season. Since reaching the All-Star Game two years ago, injuries have haunted the reliever a bit. He missed a month with a sore shoulder this season, and three months last season with a blood clot in that same shoulder.
Off-the-field issues have played a role in some missed time as well, as Familia served a 15-game suspension to begin the 2017 season for violating the league's domestic violence policy stemming from an incident in 2016 with his wife.
Familia will be a free agent at the end of this season. He did express some sadness for leaving the Mets' organization, saying "it's tough for me," and added " I love this team, I love my teammates." He will have new teammates as soon as this weekend, but there is no word on how soon he'll be available for Oakland. However, one thing we do know is that he will not be their closer, as All-Star Blake Treinen has that position locked down with a 0.94 ERA and 24 saves.
