Player Data: Age: 32 (10/10/89), B/T: Right/Right
Primary Stats: 65 G, 59.1 IP, 3.94 ERA, 1.416 WHIP, 9-4 W/L, 72K, 27 BB
Advanced Stats: 102 ERA+ , 27.5% K%, 10.3% BB%, 3.73 xERA, 4.40 FIP, 3.49 xFIP, 0.0 fWAR
2021 Salary: $10 million
Grade: C
In the last season of his second and most likely last tenure with the Mets, the once-dominant closer had a pretty decent year which came with some ups and downs. Looking at his overall performance there isn’t anything that stands out as being out of the ordinary, but the expectations for Familia were insufficiently met.
It’s fair to say that the dominant days of Jeurys Familia in Queens are far over. Grazing over his stats from the 2021 season, there were two major concerns amongst a group of average statistics. Those are the number of home runs and walks allowed. In 59 1/3 innings pitched, he allowed a career-high 10 home runs. Paired with his already high fly-ball ratio, Familia was watching baseballs fly all around the park when he was on the mound, mostly going out, at a concerning rate.
Although it wasn’t a career-worst, Familia gave up 27 walks throughout the course of the season, contributing to a hefty 10.3% walk rate. He countered his higher walk rate, by tying the highest strikeout percentage of his career at 27.5%. Even with the high strikeout percentage, Familia’s usual ways of keeping runners off base diminished, and pairing that with the home run tendencies shown, didn’t add up well for Familia in 2021.
It’s no secret that Familia’s best pitch for the greater part of his career has been his sinker. When Familia has his signature pitch going, it is usually not a good night for the opposing team. The average speed of 96.4 MPH on his sinker in 2021 continued to make his reign supreme in that department amongst major league pitchers. Familia also saw his sinker as a key to success because he threw his sinker 59% of the time, which is a staggering 14% more than the 2020 season.
After posting a 7.94 ERA in five outings in the month of June, the Mets put Familia on the 10-day Injured List on June 21st with a right hip impingement. Even with Famila’s subpar performances, the injury-ridden team still needed arms out of the bullpen, and having him as an option was almost always a positive thing. His IL stint didn’t last long and he was activated on July 3rd.
Overall, Familia was just average in 2021. The ERA was okay, but the home runs and walks really depleted his season. Becoming a setup man to Edwin Diaz was a role that needed to be executed by Familia and it was not, leading to an unsuccessful season.
2022 Outlook
After signing a three-year, $30 million dollar contract for his second tenure with the team, I personally do not believe there will be a third occurrence between the Mets and Familia. Although the Mets were the team to sign Familia out of the Dominican Republic and he has expressed his love for the city of New York, the fans, and the organization that has housed him for the better part of 10 seasons, it just doesn’t seem like a match suitable for the Mets this time around.
It is clear that Familia is not the same pitcher he was in the 2015 and 2016 campaigns and not even when he was dealt at the deadline in 2018. The Mets would be selling themselves short both financially and performance-wise if they chose to hand Familia another contract rather than bring in someone on the market such as Archie Bradley, Ian Kennedy, or Collin McHugh to name a few available.
Familia had some storybook moments for the Mets during his time on the team, but there most likely will not be another reunion for Familia in Queens for the 2022 season.
