Mets’ closer Familia can pitch in 3-4 months

The Mets are now saying that All-Star closer Jeurys Familia can begin throwing in six weeks and pitch in three to four months, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post.

The news of this timeline comes one day after Familia had surgery on an arterial clot in his right shoulder. Vascular surgeon Dr. Robert Thompson performed Familia’s surgery in St. Louis after Familia was diagnosed with the clot Thursday during a visit to the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.

With this timeline established, that will put Familia’s return either in August or September. Familia had posted a 3.86 ERA with three saves in 11 appearances this season after serving a 15-game suspension under the MLB domestic violence policy to begin his sixth season with the Mets. His performance was a far cry from last year, when he led the National League with 51 saves, posted a 2.55 ERA in 78 appearances and was named an All-Star for the first time in his career.

For now, the Mets will more than likely turn to setup man Addison Reed as their closer for the time being. Reed has four saves this season and 110 for his career, but he has not been a full-time closer since 2014 when he was with the Diamondbacks. However, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports tweeted Friday that the Mets need a closer and may want to consider acquiring White Sox closer David Robertson, who has already drawn interest from the Nationals since they are having bullpen issues. However, if the Mets are not in a position to make the playoffs, they could shut Familia down for the year and have him focus on getting healthy for 2018.