Jeurys Familia’s pedigree and contract alone won’t be enough. For now, he’s going to have to prove he’s worthy of returning to his previous role as the team’s setup man.
Until that happens, Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman aren’t just going to lose the opportunities they’ve earned in front of closer Edwin Diaz.
“Guys step up and they’re pitching well. Just because somebody comes back, doesn’t mean they get bumped down, in my opinion,” manager Mickey Callaway said Sunday morning, after the Mets-Marlins series finale was postponed due to rain and rescheduled as part of a single-admission doubleheader Aug. 5 at Citi Field at 4:10 p.m. “They’re getting the job done, they’re going to continue to get chances.”
Familia will be activated by the time the Mets (19-20) return to action Tuesday against the Nationals in Washington, but the team plans to ease him in at first, understandable considering his struggles this season. Before going on the injured list on May 1 with a bone spur in his shoulder that had been bothering him, Familia was one of the team’s worst pitchers.
Signed in the offseason to a three-year, $30 million contract, the 29-year-old right-hander had a balloon-like 6.28 ERA across 14 ¹/₃ innings, having allowed 10 earned runs and two home runs, while walking 13 and striking out 15. In his last outing, he was asked to get a six-out save against the Reds. He retired five batters, before blowing it.
“We’ve got to get him back to the productive Familia that he’s been in the past,” Callaway said. “We’re definitely going to ease him back in and get his feet wet and get him going again, so he can be the pitcher he needs to be.”
Meanwhile, former starters Lugo and Gsellman have been trustworthy, combining to throw 20 ¹/₃ consecutive scoreless innings, 11 ¹/₃ from Lugo, who has excelled after a shaky start to his season. The two have been invaluable with Familia and Justin Wilson, the duo expected to carry the load in front of Diaz, spending so much time on the IL.
“Gsellman and Lugo are going to be huge pieces moving forward,” Callaway said. “What this little stretch is really allowing us to do is understanding these guys can step in and throw any inning as well. So you don’t have to lock it in as much. We have some leeway. We have two pitchers there we feel very comfortable can fill in as we’re still trying to get Familia going in the right direction.”
That doesn’t mean Familia won’t pitch in high-leverage spots. He just won’t get the first shot at it if everyone is rested until he’s pitched well enough to convince Callaway that’s where he should be pitching. Lugo and Gsellman often pitch more than an inning at a time and are unavailable the next day.
“Now, we can use all those guys on that day, and then the next day we got a hold situation in the eighth, and he’s going to have to pitch,” Callaway said. “So it’s not that we don’t feel confident in him at that point. We do feel like there’s going to have to be a little bit of an easing him back in to fit back where he should in the bullpen.”