Recapping the Jeurys Familia reunion

Jeurys Familia was instrumental in 2015 and 2016 for the New York Mets. He's a big reason why they got to the World Series in 2015 and to the Wild Card Game in 2016.

In 2015, Familia unexpectedly took over the closer role after Jenry Mejia was suspended for PEDs. He took the role over and ran with it, posting a 1.85 ERA in 76 appearances, tallying 43 saves which tied a Mets single-season franchise record.

Familia was so good that year, David Ortiz called him "the nastiest pitcher in the world." Familia would carry his dominance into the first two rounds of the postseason, tallying five saves in 9.2 innings pitched. In the World Series, he did allow the Alex Gordon home run, but the rest of the damage against him was due to the Mets putrid infield defense.

Familia does not deserve a lot of the blame Mets fans give him for the World Series defeat.

In 2016, Familia broke the franchise record with 51 saves and pitched to a 2.55 ERA in 78 games. This dominance did not carry into the playoffs as he gave up the three-run home run to Connor Gillaspie and the Mets lost that game, but he was a very key reason why they even played in that game to begin with.

In 2017, Familia battled through an injury and struggled. He was shipped off to the Athletics at the trade deadline in 2018 for Bobby Wahl, Will Toffey, and international bonus money. The Mets basically netted nothing in this deal.

I assumed that would be it for Familia in Queens, but the Mets opted to bring him back that offseason on a three-year $30 million dollar deal. He was supposed to be an elite set-up man for the newly acquired Edwin Diaz.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned at all.

Diaz was a disaster in 2019 and Familia was even worse. He pitched to a 5.70 ERA and was basically only being used in games that were out of reach by season's end.

He walked an absurd 6.3 batters per nine and allowed 1.1 HR/9 which for a groundball pitcher like Familia, was high. It was his highest mark since 2013.

In 2020 and 2021 Familia was better, but not the guy the Mets thought they were getting. It seemed like every outing was the same. He'd walk a couple of guys and get out of a big jam allowing little or no damage. His ERA hovered in the high threes, but he pitched worse than that.

His ability to get out of jams made him more usable in some circumstances, but he still wasn't the dominant set-up man the Mets paid a lot of money to get. His total of one save in three years tells you all you need to know about Familia's reunion in Queens.

If he didn't have so much history here I honestly wouldn't hate it if the Mets brought him back on a one-year deal because he did post a 10.9 K/9 this season and had some good moments. But, I do think it's best if the two sides part ways for real this time.