New York Mets: 4 pitchers that need to step up with Jeurys Familia sidelined

The New York Mets will be without closer Jeurys Familia for a while. Which pitchers need to step up in his absence?

The New York Mets have been hit, hard, by the injury bug this season. Their lineup is lacking much punch with Yoenis Cespedes sidelined. Joining him on the disabled list is Travis d’Arnaud and David Wright. Their absence has hurt the lineup, but the real problem for the Mets this season has been the pitching staff.

Coming into the season, the pitching staff was expected to be the strength of the team. They had excellent depth in the starting rotation and a relatively deep bullpen after retaining many of the relievers they had last season. Six weeks into the season, the starting rotation depth is gone and the bullpen is in shambles.

Steven Matz and Seth Lugo have been sidelined since the end of the Spring Training. They were joined by Noah Syndergaard recently, who tore his lat muscle. Most recently, closer Jeurys Familia landed on the disabled list as well.

Familia was dealing with a blood clot of sorts. He was losing feeling in his fingers, which led to surgery to remove the blood clot from the armpit area. Familia could miss the remainder of the season, as he is expected to miss the next 3-4 months of action.

Familia was transferred to the 60-day DL earlier this week to make room on the 40-man roster. His spot was taken by the recently signed Neil Ramirez. With Familia sidelined, the Mets need other players to step up in his place.

There are plenty of people that will need to improve so the Mets can replace what they will be losing in Familia. They have played without him, as he was suspended the first 15 games because of a domestic violence incident. Will they be able to survive his lengthier absence this time?

Check out our slideshow of the four players that need to step up with Familia sidelined.