New York Mets: 4 pitchers that need to step up with Jeurys Familia sidelined
The likely replacement for Familia in the ninth inning is Addison Reed. Reed has experience closing games previously in his career and did it earlier this season when Familia was suspended. Thus far this season, Reed has been okay for the Mets.
Acquiring Reed from the Arizona Diamondbacks proved to be a shrewd move. He was great for the Mets when they made their run to the World Series in 2015. In 2016 he was even better in the setup role ahead of Familia. This season he has not been as dominant. The Mets will need that to change to help overcome Familia’s loss.
The strikeout numbers are good for Reed this season, as he has 23 in 18.2 innings. But, he has been hurt by the long ball. He has surrendered five home runs already; he gave up that many in his Mets career in total before this season. Reed has only blown one save this season, and it came in his first chance since Familia went down.
The Mets have to hope that was just an anomaly. Collins was going to try and squeeze five outs out of Reed, something he just cannot do. While Reed does need to perform better now as the closer, the Mets have to be careful how they use him.
Another positive for Reed is that he has not allowed a walk this season. There is hope that he can return to the dominant form he had last season; his strikeout and walk numbers are a good barometer. The Mets certainly hope so, as Reed will be counted on to close out games as long as Familia is sidelined.