In a rebuilt and flourishing Mets bullpen, two of the most familiar names have been at the forefront.
It was fair to wonder after last season whether the Mets would yield anything on Jeurys Familia’s free-agent contract. Likewise, Edwin Diaz showed improvement last year after a dismal 2019, but could he be trusted to anchor the closer’s role?
Two months into the 2021 season, the Mets might have found their answers. Familia has reverted to the form he showed early in his first tenure with the Mets and Diaz has been close to automatic in save situations.
The Mets have a 3.48 ERA from the bullpen, which ranked fifth in MLB entering Friday, showing it has been more than just Familia and Diaz. But that tandem’s consistency has perhaps lessened the pressure on newcomers Trevor May, Aaron Loup and Jacob Barnes, allowing the unit to flourish. Another returning reliever from last season, Miguel Castro, has solidified the middle innings.
“This is the best I have seen [Familia] throw since maybe ’15 when we made the World Series and he was the closer here,” manager Luis Rojas said after the Mets’ game against the Braves at Citi Field was postponed by inclement weather Friday. “He’s probably there and now you have got to add the slider piece to the sinker, which is a special pitch that got him to be a successful pitcher in his career.”
Familia had an abysmal 2019 season after returning to the Mets on a three-year contract worth $30 million. He showed improvement last year after losing weight in the offseason and coming to camp in better shape, but he’s been a force this year — pitching to a 2.30 ERA in 17 appearances. Familia hasn’t allowed an earned run in 15 of those appearances.
“We remember last year where he lost a good amount of weight and I think he learned some things because of that and this year he’s in the middle where he’s using more strength and he’s got better body control,” Rojas said. “I think that’s helping him actually repeat his delivery, that is why he’s more consistent throwing strikes right now and also the slider, the grip of the slider, which is something he worked with [pitching coach] Jeremy Hefner, has played a really good role to complement his sinker right now.”
Diaz still hasn’t allowed an earned run in a save situation this season. The right-hander has converted all nine of those opportunities. It follows a season in which Diaz showed electric stuff, striking out nearly two batters per inning, after a dreadful 2019 with the Mets in which he was removed from the closer’s role.
Overall, Diaz has pitched to a 3.10 ERA in 20 appearances this season
“What happened two years ago, the first two months he was dominant and then things started to go differently for him, and I think it was presented to him what happened, from the action of his pitches, from the command he was having on his pitches, all those things were presented to him going into 2020 by our pitching coaches and analysts,” Rojas said.
“That was a big year for him to learn about himself, he’s a young man still. He’s 27 years old, and with the stuff he has, the more feedback he can get when he has challenges like this or struggles throughout a season, I think the better he is going to be. There’s some things that happened that year, but it was just part of his career that taught him a lot and made him a better pitcher.”
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