The Mets signed Jeurys Familia to a 3-year, 30 million dollar deal last night that just makes too much sense. There’s a lot of relievers still on the market looking for closer jobs, longer term deals etc. Familia likes the Mets. The Mets like Familia. This deal seems incredibly fair.
Now the Mets have a closer in Diaz and a set up man in Familia. Or, if we think of leverage situations, the Mets have a former closer to go to before the 9th inning to get them through a tough spot. Before this move, Gsellman projected to be the set-up man and while he improved last year, Familia is a better option.
All of Diaz, Gsellman and Familia are right-handed pitchers. Right now on the roster Zamora is the only lefty, so the Mets should go out and get another lefty. Here are some of their options:
Zach Britton – He would be an elite option who is probably looking for a closer job. He would be an extremely expensive addition to the bullpen but a top of the pen of Diaz/Familia/Britton would be just awesome
Andrew Miller – He’s the other half of the top lefty relievers left on the market (and I think the only top two on the market to begin with). Similar story with Britton, he’s also in line to make a lot of money. His addition makes a lot sense and would be part of an amazing Diaz/Familia/Miller bullpen.
Oliver Perez – Seriously. He’s a lefty, he’s way down on the cost list and at age 36 he posted a 1.39 ERA over 32.1 innings with the Indians last year. If we are just looking for competition with Zamora, Perez is an option.
Tony Sipp – Same as Perez, if we are just looking for competition there’s Tony. He’s coming off a year where he posted a 1.86 ERA over 38.2 innings.
Luis Avilan – Non-tendered by the Phillies, he posted a combined 3.77 ERA over 45.1 innings between the White Sox and the Phillies last year. Unlike the last two pitchers on the list, he’s considerably younger (28/29) and has a 3.09 career ERA.
Jerry Blevins – A fan favorite coming off an ineffective year. This seems very Mets to sign him and while there usually is a chorus of “we’re putting the same losing team back together”, I don’t know how many people would complain about having this fantastic personality back
