The Mets signed right-handed reliever Jeurys Familia to a three-year, $30 million deal in the offseason and to this point it has looked like a disaster.
When the former Mets closer was placed on the injured list with a Bennett Lesion in right shoulder on June 18, Familia had posted a 7.81 ERA in 27.2 innings to start his 2019 campaign.
The struggles of Familia are a big reason why the Mets bullpen as a whole has been a disaster this season. A group that has a 5.58 ERA this year, third worst in the majors and threatening to break the franchise record of 5.66 set in their inaugural season back in 1962.
With Familia under contract for the next two seasons, the Mets need to get him back on track.
On Wednesday against the Yankees, Familia made his first appearance coming off is IL stint and the results were encouraging. He threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts.
Another thing that stood out from the outing was his improved velocity. Familia came into the game averaging 95.7 mph on his sinker, on Wednesday that number was 97.1 and maxed out at 98.5 mph. That 98.5 mph sinker was his hardest thrown pitch of the year, and he threw it right by Aaron Judge for a strikeout.
He threw four sliders in the outing and they were all over 90 mph despite averaging 87.8 mph on that pitch coming into the game. Those were the first four sliders he’s thrown over 90 mph in 2019 and one of them struck out Gary Sanchez swinging.
If the Mets bullpen is going to turn it around in the short and long-term, they will need Familia pitch more like he did on Wednesday.
