PORT ST. LUCIE — The rules have changed for Jeurys Familia, who presented as a good guy all the way through his NL wild-card game loss to the Giants in October but reported to Tradition Field on Tuesday as a man under investigation for an allegedly violent act.
He can lawyer up and PR up, as he did in a very brief news conference in the Mets’ home dugout here. That’s undoubtedly in his best interests. He can act as though this represents a typical spring training for him.
Yet that won’t turn everything back to the way it used to be. If he won’t talk about any of this stuff, he should understand the rest of us absolutely will. We will counter his attempts at normalcy with jolts of reality.
“It’s such a special feeling,” Familia said, through an interpreter, of entering the clubhouse for the first time this year. “We spend eight months out of the year together, so that’s like walking in and seeing my family.”
Ah, that’s lovely … except the Mets’ closer let down his baseball family when he got arrested Oct. 31 following a dispute with his actual family, specifically his wife, Bianca Rivas, who called 911 that night and described her husband as “kind of drunk” and “going crazy” and sported a bruise on her right cheek and a scratch on her chest. Those details figure to go a long way, the legal system’s dismissal of the case notwithstanding, in determining the length of Familia’s suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic-violence policy.
“I’m very happy about this upcoming season,” Familia added, also through an interpreter. “I think it’s a very meaningful one for us just because we’ve now had two previous seasons where we’ve made it very far.”
… And the Mets’ desire to set a franchise record with a third straight postseason appearance has been compromised by Familia’s likely absence to start the season. Commissioner Rob Manfred has said he expects the matter to be resolved by Opening Day. While the Mets did well this month to bring back relievers Jerry Blevins and Fernando Salas on team-friendly deals, they haven’t added any new bullpen men in anticipation of Familia’s penalty, though a young starting pitcher such as Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo or Zack Wheeler could enter the mix.
That Familia relied upon Mets media relations coordinator Melissa Rodriguez to interpret stood out, for Familia has conducted interviews in English for the majority of his major league career. The stakes were higher this time, as anything he said publicly could be used against him by MLB. The Mets, protecting their concerns as well as Familia’s, deployed vice president of media relations Jay Horwitz to sit next to Rodriguez. Horwitz, frequently shaking his head, advised Familia not to engage in most of the lines of questioning.
“My lawyer’s advice is that I don’t speak about anything related to my case,” Familia said in opening his session, and he honored his attorney Jay Reisinger’s counsel.
For now, Familia, who intends to pitch for Team Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, exists as a human cloud, the Mets needing to prepare for an April (at least) without him and to find the proper balance between supporting him and letting him and their fan base know that they find his alleged actions unacceptable.
“Whatever he was accused of is a bad thing and he knows it,” said manager Terry Collins, who described Familia as “certainly remorseful.” “But I also know there’s a huge heart in there. … I told him this morning, ‘I just hope you’re OK,’ because psychologically, this is a tough thing to get through and physically he’s got to get ready.”
Said Mets captain David Wright: “Hopefully, if there’s anything good that can come out of this, it’s that we can spread some awareness to not do this type of thing.”
Once his case has concluded, Familia can consult an excellent role model in his Mets teammate Jose Reyes, who served a 52-game suspension last year for a domestic-violence offense and has taken full responsibility, every time he is asked, for his actions. Thanks to his considerable talents, Familia will receive an opportunity to prove he is a decent man who behaved horribly one night.
He sits far from such salvation, though. You can find him in baseball’s frying pan, the fire awaiting him. He can’t no-comment his way out of consequences.