A’s add Familia arm to their bullpen
Oakland sends 2 minor leaguers plus international bonus pool money to New York for the reliever.
The trade market is heating up in baseball, with a significant deal for the third time in four days. The New York Mets on Saturday traded closer Jeurys Familia to the Oakland Athletics, both teams announced on Saturday.
Oakland sent minor league pitcher Bobby Wahl and infielder Will Toffey plus $1 million in international bonus pool slot money to New York in the deal.
Familia has a 2.88 ERA and 17 saves this season for New York, with 43 strikeouts and 14 walks in 40⅔ innings. Rumors swirled of a possible deal after the Mets opted against bringing Familia in to start the ninth inning on Friday night with a two-run lead against the New York Yankees.
Robert Gsellman, who pitched the eighth inning and allowed two runs, stayed in for the ninth to finish off the game, a 7-5 win for the Mets.
After the game, evoking thoughts of Wilmer Flores in 2015, Familia was emotional about possibly leaving New York.
"I love this team and all my teammates." -Jeurys Familia pic.twitter.com/Uql4wSXDNd
— SportsNet New York (@SNYtv) July 21, 2018
We still have 10 days before baseball’s non-waiver traded deadline, but the action began this week. Manny Machado was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 5-for-1 deal on Wednesday, then on Thursday the Cleveland Indians bolstered their bullpen by getting Brad Hand and Adam Cimber from the San Diego Padres.
Familia will be a free agent after the season. He’s making $7.925 million in 2018, with roughly $3 million remaining the rest of the way.
“Upper-level talent is certainly what you’d prefer to have given where we think we want to be in the next couple of years,” Mets assistant general manager John Ricco said Friday, per MLB.com. “But at the end of the day, what you’re looking to do is just get the best return you can.”
Oakland is one of the hottest teams in baseball, with 21 wins in their last 28 games entering Saturday. At 55-43 (.561) the A’s are four games out of a wild card position in a top-heavy American League.
Familia strengthens an Oakland bullpen that has a 3.52 ERA, fifth in the AL. But that A’s bullpen has also been taxed, third in the league with 355 relief innings.