FAMILIA GETS 15-GAME BAN
SUSPENDED OVER DOMESTIC INCIDENT
THE METS need to implement their Plan B for the closer position now that Jeurys Familia will be sidelined by a suspension. Major League Baseball announced Wednesday that Familia, the Mets’ closer, received a 15game ban without pay from commissioner Rob Manfred as a result of the Dominican righthander violating MLB and the MLB Players Association’s joint domestic violence policy. Familia will not appeal the discipline, and he’s eligible to return to the team for their 16th game, the scheduled April 20 home game against the Phillies, barring any rainouts. Familia was arrested in Fort Lee, N.J., early on Oct. 31 and charged with simple assault, the equivalent of a misdemeanor under New Jersey law. But the case was dismissed in December by Judge John DeSheplo in Fort Lee Municipal Court. Familia’s wife, Bianca Rivas — the alleged victim in the matter — and her attorney had requested that the prosecutor drop the charges prior to the December hearing. The prosecutor, Arthur Balsamo, ultimately elected not to prosecute Familia. Despite the criminal case being dropped, Manfred still had the authority to discipline Familia as outlined in the domestic violence policy, which was implemented in the summer of 2015. Manfred can punish players even if the player is not charged or convicted in a criminal matter.
“The evidence reviewed by my office does not support a determination that Mr. Familia physically assaulted his wife, or threatened her or others with physical force or harm, on October 31, 2016,” Manfred said in a statement Wednesday. “Nevertheless, I have concluded that Mr. Familia’s overall conduct that night was inappropriate, violated the Policy, and warrants discipline. It is clear that Mr. Familia regrets what transpired that night and takes full responsibility for his actions.”
Familia, 27, denied hurting Rivas while taking responsibility for the events.
“With all that has been written and discussed regarding this matter, it is important that it be known that I never physically touched, harmed or threatened my wife that evening,” Familia said in a statement. “I did, however, act in an unacceptable manner and am terribly disappointed in myself. I am alone to blame for the problems of that evening.
“My wife and I cooperated fully with Major League Baseball’s investigation, and I’ve taken meaningful steps to assure that nothing like this will ever happen again. I have learned from this experience, and have grown as a husband, a father, and a man. I apologize to the Mets’ organization, my teammates, and all my fans. I look forward to rejoining the Mets and being part of another World Series run.”
Last year, Manfred suspended Familia’s current Mets teammate Jose Reyes for 52 games and Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman for 30 games to start the season. Chapman was never charged in Florida for an alleged 2015 domestic violence incident, but Reyes was arrested in Maui on Oct. 31, 2015 and charged with abuse of a family/household member when he was still a member of the Rockies. Maui prosecutors eventually dismissed the case (without prejudice) because Reyes’ wife Katherine Ramirez — the alleged victim — refused to cooperate with
the prosecution. The Mets signed Reyes last year after he was released by Colorado.
In the original complaint for Familia’s case, police said Rivas — whose name was redacted in the document — had “visible injuries, specifically a scratch to the chest and bruise to the right cheek.” But Rivas told New Jersey prosecutor Arthur Balsamo that the scratch was the result of the couple’s young son, and that the bruise was caused by her resting her face in her hand. In a 911 call Rivas placed Oct. 31, she tells the dispatcher that her husband “is going crazy” and that he is “drunk.”
MLB chief legal officer Dan Halem said in a statement last month that both parties “have fully cooperated with our investigation. Any media reports to the contrary are inaccurate.” Manfred reiterated that Familia and Rivas had fully cooperated with the MLB probe.
Meanwhile, Mets manager Terry Collins said Wednesday in Florida that he and the team are “very lucky it wasn’t more (than 15 games).
“We knew something was going to happen. We planned on it. I agree with the statement,” said Collins. The Mets skipper clarified that he was not commenting on Familia’s case when he used the term “lucky.”
“You just never know what it’s going to be. I don’t have any idea. I don’t listen to any testimony, I don’t know anything that goes on. I just know that one guy got 30 games, another guy got 50 games. We’ll settle for what we got and we’ll get ready,” said Collins. He added that Addison Reed will be the interim closer until Familia returns. “We said all spring we’re going to move Addy to the back end and try and find some pieces to bridge the gap from (innings) six to nine, and we think we’ve got those guys,” said Collins.
Reed was 4-2 and had a 1.97 ERA in 80 games in 2016. The 28-year-old right-hander had 91 strikeouts in 77.2 innings.
Familia was in Manhattan Monday for a two-hour meeting with MLB officials at the league’s Park Ave. offices. He was joined by Rivas and attorney Jay Reisinger, who didn’t comment on the nature of the meeting. Wednesday, Familia was in the Port St. Lucie clubhouse in the morning, participated in conditioning drills and then left.
Manfred said Wednesday that Familia has already completed 12 counseling sessions — 90 minutes each — “with an approved counselor specializing in the area of domestic violence, and received a favorable evaluation from the counselor regarding his willingness to take concrete steps to ensure that he is not involved in another incident of this type. “Further, he has agreed to speak to other players about what he has learned through this process, and to donate time and money to local organizations aimed at the prevention of, and the treatment of victims of, domestic violence,” said Manfred. The Associated Press reported that Familia will lose $738,328 of his 2017 salary of $7,425,000.
Familia reported to spring training this year after being held up by what the club said was a visa issue. He later participated in the World Baseball Classic with the Dominican team. Despite MLB’s ongoing investigation of Familia, he was still allowed to participate in the WBC, an event that is held jointly with the players’ union and international federations.