For Jeurys Familia, where trumped when.
The Mets’ closer-turned-setup-man, with an Oakland layover separating the two roles, said Monday, in a conference call, that he prioritized a return to his original team over closing games for another club. So even though the Mets already had a new closer in All-Star Edwin Diaz, the former All-Star Familia gladly agreed to a three-year, $30 million offer to join the Brodie Van Wagenen All-In Experience.
“I’d love to be a closer. I’ve been a closer for a couple of years,” Familia said. “But at the same time, I wanted to come back to the Mets.”
He added, later, “It doesn’t matter what inning I want to pitch. I [came] back here to win and get a championship.”
The Mets, out of contention last July, dealt Familia to the A’s for a pair of minor leaguers (Will Toffey and Bobby Wahl) and $1 million in international bonus pool money. The A’s utilized the right-hander primarily as a setup man, calling upon him 20 times in the eighth inning and thrice more in the seventh inning out of 30 appearances, and he put together a 3.45 ERA altogether with Oakland, contributing to the team’s unlikely rise to an American League wild-card slot. Familia said he and the Mets spoke about the eighth inning being his inning.
Asked why he viewed it as so important to return to the Mets, who signed him as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic in 2007, Familia said: “It means a lot for me because that’s where I grew up, 12 years in the organization between the minor leagues and the big leagues. It’s like a family for me. That’s why I’m here today.”
Familia said he met Diaz a couple of years ago and called him “one of the best closers in the game.” For sure, Diaz can learn from Familia on how to deal with big-market failure and the accompanying scrutiny.
The 29-year-old also endorsed Wilson Ramos, the Mets’ new catcher, saying, “He’s a really good catcher.”
“It’s going to be a good year for us,” concluded Familia, who won’t be concluding many Mets games anymore if the plan works but sure sounds happy to be back in Queens.
As he said in his brief opening statement: “I’m so excited to be back. I don’t have the words to describe how I’m feeling right now to be back home. Let’s go Mets.”