Pending medical examinations, it appears the New York Mets and Oakland Athletics have an agreement on a trade involving Jeurys Familia.
Jeurys Familia is set to make a cross-country trip to join his new team. The Oakland Athletics and New York Mets are finalizing a deal to send the Dominican born closer to the American League per Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.
Familia will bolster an A’s bullpen that already features a lockdown closer. The A’s bullpen ranks eighth among major league teams in ERA at 3.52. Blake Treinen is sitting on 24 saves and a 0.94 ERA heading into Saturday’s action. It would be a huge surprise if A’s skipper, Bob Melvin, takes Treinen out of his current role.
Familia is sporting a 2.88 ERA with 17 saves of his own. He could become the perfect setup man for Treinen, but he has always looked uncomfortable when he’s not the closer. Perhaps a change of scenery and a playoff push will coerce Familia into changing his tune.
Additionally, Familia is in the final year of his contract and showing some versatility could help him in the offseason.
While this deal appears to be locked and loaded, Familia’s health appears to be the only way this deal falls through.
Familia’s trade should be bittersweet for Mets fans. Trading Familia is a no-brainer for the organization. He’s in a contract year and by trading him to a contender, the Mets can begin to replenish the farm system.
But Familia was a huge part of the team’s success in 2015 and 2016. He came up huge for the Metropolitans on numerous occasions, most notably Game 5 of the 2015 NLDS. After Friday night’s game, Familia discussed his time in New York and his love for his teammates.
"I love this team and all my teammates." -Jeurys Familia pic.twitter.com/Uql4wSXDNd
— SportsNet New York (@SNYtv) July 21, 2018
