New York Mets reliever Jeurys Familia possesses a great deal of confidence in the team’s bullpen ahead of the 2020 campaign.
In 2019, the New York Mets improved from their prior 77-85 season, finishing 86-76 and possessing plenty of talent within the lineup and rotation. The latter group finished seventh in the MLB with a combined 3.84 ERA and additionally included National League Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom.
But what caused some fans to be anxious throughout the year was the struggling bullpen. The Mets relievers finished 25th in the majors with a combined 4.95 ERA. Closer Edwin Díaz was one of the worst-performing relievers on the club, having finished with a 2-7 record and 5.59 ERA.
Needless to say, the pen was arguably the lowest point of the entire organization. Nonetheless, right-handed reliever Jeurys Familia believes a bounce-back season is on the way in 2020.
“Our bullpen is the best bullpen right now in the big leagues,” Familia stated ahead of spring training in Port St. Lucie, per Alex Smith of SNY. “If everybody’s healthy, I think we’re going to do something special this year, to win a lot of games.”
Familia is coming off a season in which he struggled mightily. Through 66 games, the current 30-year-old posted a 4-2 record with a 5.70 ERA (career-worst, minimum 30 appearances) and 1.733 WHIP (career-worst, minimum 30 starts).
Jeurys put in the work this offseason though, telling reporters he shed around 30 pounds. He’ll look to return to his All-Star form of 2016. During that specific campaign, he put up a 2.55 ERA and 1.210 WHIP through 78 appearances.
