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Atlanta Braves free agent profile: Jeurys Familia

By Benjamin Chase

LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 11: Jeurys Familia #27 of the New York Mets celebrates a strikeout of Yasiel Puig #66 of the Los Angeles Dodgers to end the game with a 4-3 win at Dodger Stadium on May 11, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 11: Jeurys Familia #27 of the New York Mets celebrates a strikeout of Yasiel Puig #66 of the Los Angeles Dodgers to end the game with a 4-3 win at Dodger Stadium on May 11, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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Atlanta Braves
MIAMI, FL – MARCH 11: Jeurys Familia #27 of the Dominican Republic celebrates winning a Pool C game of the 2017 World Baseball Classic against the United States at Miami Marlins Stadium on March 11, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

A tremendous run

Used as a setup man in 2014, Familia quickly established himself as one of the top relievers in the game, posting a 2.21 ERA and 1.18 WHIP over 76 games and 77 1/3 innings, with a 32/73 BB/K ratio.

Familia took over a closer in 2015 for the Mets, leading the majors in games finished, tossing 78 innings and saving 43 games, with a 1.85 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and a 19/86 BB/K ratio as the New York Mets worked their way to the World Series. He was dominant throughout the playoffs, saving 5 games in 12 appearances, tossing 14 2/3 innings, with a 0.61 ERA, 0.48 WHIP, and a 2/9 BB/K ratio.

The 2016 season got Familia his first All-Star bid, as he led the major leagues in saves with 51, posting a 2.55 ERA and 1.21 WHIP over 77 2/3 innings with a 31/84 BB/K ratio. However, many Mets fans remember the 2016 season most for Familia’s blow-up in the Wild Card game, as he gave up 3 runs in the 9th inning of a 3-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants.

Injuries limited Familia to just 24 2/3 innings in 2017, on top of it, Familia had an accusation of domestic violence clouding his season. The accusation was found to be unsubstantiated, and Familia was given a 15-game suspension by MLB, the lightest suspension given thus far – and given before the accusation was found to be unsubstantiated, but Familia did admit that he put himself into a bad position by getting drunk and acting in a manner deemed inappropriate by MLB. Familia and his wife cooperated with MLB and both have denied physical violence occurred on the night in question.

Familia had a very solid season on a rough Mets team in the first half of the season before being traded to the Oakland A’s, where he slotted into a setup role. Combined, he had a 3.13 ERA and 1.22 WHIP over 72 innings with a 28/83 BB/K ratio.

Ranks among relievers

Familia has been one of the top relievers in the league the last 5 seasons. Here are his ranks among all relievers in the last half decade:

  • bWAR (7.2) – 15th
  • Games pitched (326) – 12th
  • Games finished (199) – 9th
  • Saves (123) – 10th
  • Innings (329 2/3) – 14th
  • Strikeouts (351) – 16th
  • ERA (2.57) – 16th (among relievers with 100+ appearances)
  • WPA (6.8) – 18th

He’s certainly been in the top 15 or so relievers in the entire game in the last 5 years.

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