Watching for hugs

There are a few things a team spending its time fighting to stay out of last place should be doing. This kind of team probably shouldn’t be allowing its star hitter to put of a surgery with an 8-10 month recovery window. This kind of team should also be sellers at the trade deadline we find ourselves fast approaching. The Mets, bless their hearts, have at least kind of found a way to fulfill one of those two.

As the Mets worked on beating the Yankees Friday night, reports of a deal that would send Jeurys Familia to Oakland popped up. At 8:30, a New York beat reporter characterized the deal as all but done. By the end of the night, Ken Rosenthal reported that there was no deal in place and that other teams may still be in the mix. As long as a deal is being worked towards, the effort from the Mets, though be it minimal effort we’ve come to love and expect, seems to be there.

Among qualified starters this season, Familia sits T-8 in WAR with 1.2. He’s also T-12 in saves, though his still-impressive 2.88 ERA puts him behind a significant number of relievers. He’s mostly rebounded from his 2017, which he concluded with a 4.38 ERA and in which threw only 24.4 innings. That season, he was suspended for violating the league’s domestic violence policy. There remains a question about Familia’s place in Major League Baseball given the arrest for alleged domestic violence, but that’s a topic that deserves (and has been given) full pages of analysis.

Of course, Familia seems to be moving whether or not Oakland is his destination. The Athletics already feature one of the best relievers in the game in Blake Treinen, but a Wild Card chase can always use more support. Though the A’s may be good enough as-is to complete that task, we all know Mr. Beane can’t stay away from the thrill of the trade for long.