Mets sign Jeurys Familia to three-year, $30 million deal, per report

The Mets and free-agent reliever Jeurys Familia are in agreement on a deal that will bring the former All-Star back to Queens for a second stint, per a report early Thursday morning from Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan. It’s a three-year, $30 million deal, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal:

Familia, 29, had spent the entirety of his professional career in the Mets organization until being dealt to the A’s just prior to the trade deadline this past July. Familia, who led the majors in saves in 2016 while reaching his lone All-Star Game, had the worst season of his career in 2017, missing 15 games due to a domestic-violence suspension and dealing with a blood clot in his shoulder. He posted a 4.38 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP over 26 appearances, and the Mets set themselves up to move on from him in the closer’s role when they acquired AJ Ramos at the trade deadline. Familia very much rebuilt his value in 2018, though, throwing for a 3.13 ERA and 1.22 WHIP with 83 strikeouts and 28 walks over 70 appearances (72 innings) between Oakland and New York. He also threw a scoreless inning during the Athletics’ Wild Card Game loss to the Yankees.

Though Familia was more than capable as a closer during his first stint in New York, he’ll fill the same role during his second tour of duty with the Mets as he did with the A’s — that of a setup man. He’ll help bridge the gap to star closer Edwin Diaz, who was acquired in a blockbuster deal along with Robinson Cano earlier this month.

Familia is the first major domino to fall on the relief-pitcher market this offseason, so it’ll be interesting to see if notable relievers like Craig Kimbrel, Joe Kelly, David Robertson, Adam Ottavino, Andrew Miller, Zach Britton, and many others begin to find homes in the coming days and weeks.