Addison Reed figures to take over as the Mets closer as Jeurys Familia deals with a health issue.
Jeurys Familia walked off the Citi Field mound to a chorus of boos Wednesday after recording just one out and giving up four ninth-inning runs to the San Francisco Giants. Little did New York Mets fans know that might be the last they see if their closer for quite a while.
Familia was diagnosed with an arterial clot in his right shoulder, the New York Mets announced Thursday, and underwent surgery on Friday in St. Louis, Mets GM Sandy Alderson said.
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It’s a significant blow for the Mets, although they weathered the loss of Familia at the start of the season when he served a 20-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. Addison Reed filled in admirably then, and the right-hander still leads the team with four saves and has a stellar 0.89 walks and hits per inning (WHIP) .
Familia, 27, has been not so good – and perhaps now we know why. He has a 3.86 ERA, but a 1.61 WHIP. Wednesday, however, was his first blown save of the season.
The greater blow will be to the Mets’ overall bullpen depth. Despite a litany of injuries to the rotation and lineup, they enter Thursday’s off day at 16-17,5 ½ games behind the Washington Nationals in the NL East.
