The New York Mets new manager Mickey Callaway has made it known that he might not have a set closer and will use his bullpen differently depending on the circumstances.
Jeurys Familia, AJ Ramos, Jerry Blevins and new reliever Anthony Swarzak will all be options to use in the back-end of the pen according to Callaway.
Familia, led the NL with 51 saves in 2016, is on board with Callaway’s idea as he told Kevin Kernan of the New York Post, “It doesn’t matter to me. I’m just trying to win the game.”
The 28-year-old right-hander missed a large chunk of the 2017 after having surgery to remove a blood clot in his right armpit and a suspension to begin the season. He would up with a 4.38 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and six saves in only 24.2 innings.
General manager Sandy Alderson traded for Ramos in July, the former Miami Marlins closer, pitched in 17 games with the Mets with seven saves to finish the season.
Familia started to look more like himself in his last few appearances (one ER in last 7.1 IP) and excited for 2018, “My body feels good, and my arm, after having that surgery, feels good. I know what I can do this year. I bought a house in Miami and I trained Monday through Friday and then for Christmas I spent some time in the [Dominican Republic] with my family.”
