The Mets suffered what could be another major blow on Thursday, when closer Jeurys Familia was diagnosed with an arterial clot in his right shoulder.
This is the kind of news that could be huge, or might mean nothing in a few days. To this point, it’s still unclear as to whether Jeurys Familia will undergo surgery or not. Given that the Mets have already released a statement on the subject, it does certainly seem likely. As MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo notes, Familia is scheduled to see Dr. Robert Thompson, who has performed major surgery on teammate Matt Harvey in the past.
The Mets say in a release that surgery is possible for Familia. He's seeing Dr. Robert Thompson, who performed Matt Harvey's TOS surgery.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 11, 2017
Where to go from here
If Familia doesn’t need surgery, this might only be a short-term injury. Until they get him back, the Mets could turn to Addison Reed as an in-house closer option. Reed has been a successful closer in the past, and has 110 lifetime saves to his name. He has only 26 career blown saves, giving him a dependable 80.8 percent conversion rate. Reed had a career year last season, recording a 1.97 ERA with 40 holds, 91 strikeouts and just 13 walks over 77.2 IP. He’s come back down to earth just a little bit in 2017, sporting a 3.00 ERA on the young season. He does have 22 strikeouts and zero walks in 18 innings thus far, displaying excellent command of his pitches.
It’s hard to blame anyone for something like a blood clot, but the Mets don’t have a great reputation when it comes to staying healthy. Hall of Famer and former Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez brought the training staff into question recently, and things just keep getting worse.
Something must be wrong in the way the Mets train their players. Something needs to be change and needs to be look at.
— Pedro Martinez (@45PedroMartinez) May 4, 2017
As DiComo points out, the Mets’ three best players are all missing time right now due to injury.
The Mets' best starter (Syndergaard) reliever (Familia) and hitter (Cespedes) have all suffered significant injuries in the span of a month.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 11, 2017
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So far in 2017, Familia has had some struggles. He’s only 8.1 innings into the season, so sample size has to be accounted for. Control has definitely been an issue though, and he’s already walked eight batters compared to 10 strikeouts. His ERA, which shouldn’t hold much weight at this time, is a modest 3.86. Familia was looking much better before Wednesday night’s meltdown. He gave up three earned runs and recorded one out, taking the loss against the Giants. For the Mets’ sake, it’s hopeful that his control struggles are related to this injury.