A’s bolster their bullpen, acquire Familia from Mets
OAKLAND – The A’s find themselves in an improbable playoff hunt this season on the strengths of a strong offense and bullpen. The latter just got even more talented.
The A’s have acquired reliever Jeurys Familia from the New York Mets in exchange for minor leaguers. Right-handed pitcher Bobby Wahl and third baseman Will Toffey are the two prospects heading to New York.
Familia, 28 has saved 17 games for the Mets this season and is 4-4 with a 2.88 ERA in 40 games. The hard-throwing righthander has racked up 43 strikeouts with just 14 walks over 40 2/3 innings of work.
Toffey is the rated as the A’s No. 17 prospect by Mlb.com and Wahl has already spent a short time in the majors. The A’s managed to hold onto their top prospects, which shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise given that Familia is pretty much a rental player who will be eligible for free agency next season.
The addition of Familia only strengthens the back end of the A’s bullpen, which already features the impressive duo of Allstar closer Blake Treinen and set up man Lou Trivino. The A’s remain the only team in baseball yet to lose a game when leading after seven innings (38-0) and have also not lost a game when leading after eight (46-0) this season.
With a starting rotation that’s been pieced together this season with 12 different starting pitchers, the A’s mission is clear with this move — Put as little pressure on the starters as possible. If they can get six quality innings out of their starting pitchers, that now sets up for a final three innings of Familia, Trivino, and Treinen.
Familia has been especially tough on righthanded batters this year, holding them to a .185 batting average. Lefties have had a bit more success against the former Allstar, hitting .288.
The velocity on Familia’s fastball has dropped a bit from the triple-digits it used to hit just a couple of years ago when he led the National League in saves with 51 in 2016, but it’s still a plus-pitch for him around 97 mph. His signature pitch has always been his splitter, which features nasty movement and has been clocked between 91-94 mph.
Toffey, 23, was drafted by the A’s in the fourth round of the 2017 draft and is batting .244 with five home runs and 32 RBIS in 48 games at Single-a Stockton this season. New York Mets relief pitcher Jeurys Familia reacts after surrendering a ninth-inning three-run home run to the San Francisco Giants’ Conor Gillaspie during the National League Wild Card Game on Oct. 5, 2016, at Citi Field in New York.