Jeurys Familia was nowhere to be found in the ninth inning Friday for good reason: He was on the verge of leaving the Mets through a trade.
The Mets closer said his goodbyes to teammates following a 7-5 victory over the Yankees. The Mets said no trade would be announced by the club Friday night, but reports indicated Familia was headed to the Athletics.
Manager Mickey Callaway said he was told midway through the game to withhold Familia from action because a trade was close. The information was relayed to Familia in the bullpen.
“It’s tough because I have played all my career here,” Familia said. “I love this team and I love my teammates and I have good memories here, so it’s really tough.”
Familia was 4-4 with a 2.88 ERA in 40 appearances for the Mets this season with 17 saves. He will likely be replaced in the closer’s role by Robert Gsellman, who pitched the final two innings for the save against the Yankees.
Before the game, assistant general manager John Ricco indicated there had been robust interest in several Mets players. Familia and Asdrubal Cabrera, both of whom are headed to free agency after the season, headed the list of players likely to be traded.
“Everybody in here, we are like a family, just playing for the Mets,” Familia said. “The most important thing for me was I had a real good time here. It’s tough.”
After serving a 15-game suspension to begin last season for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy, Familia underwent May surgery to remove a blood clot in his right shoulder. Familia missed 3 ½ months, but returned to pitch in the final five weeks of the season.
Familia set a franchise record with 51 saves in 2016, the same year in which he represented the Mets in the All-Star Game.
“He’s done a great job for the organization and he’s such a great guy,” Callaway said. “He’s a guy you count on to go out and pitch high-leverage innings and keep you in the game and win a game for you. He [will] be missed.”
Seth Lugo and Gsellman answered the call against the Yankees, with four combined innings that finished the job, albeit with drama interjected.
Amed Rosario booted Brett Gardner’s grounder in the eighth, leading to two unearned runs against Gsellman that sliced the Mets’ lead to 6-5. But the tying run was left stranded at third base as the right-hander struck out Gary Sanchez.
Lugo was in trouble for most of his 55-pitch outing. The right-hander avoided total disaster in the seventh, when he retired Miguel Andujar for the final out after Greg Bird had walked to load the bases.
