The Citi Field Curse of 2017
The Citi Field Curse of 2017 rears its ugly head once again, this time striking New York Mets closer Jeurys Familia. Early reports state that team doctors diagnosed Familia with a blood clot in his right arm. The injury comes less than a month after Familia rejoined the team following a 15-game ban. The suspension came from a violation of the league’s domestic violence policy.
Familia owns a 3.86 ERA over 9.1 innings pitched this season, appearing in 11 games. The 2016 All-Star, who tallied 51 saves last year, showed signs of rust this season. He has struggled late in games, and reports state that he was uninterested in last night’s match. It’s tough to say when he might return to the active roster. As reported by Joel Sherman, of the New York Post:
#Mets announce that Jeurys Familia was diagnosed with an arterial clot in his right shoulder #Hitskeeponcoming
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) May 11, 2017
Familia is visiting Dr. Thompson in St. Louis, same doctor #Mets sent Matt Harvey to last yr when diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) May 11, 2017
Mets options are limited
David Cone suffered a similar setback in 1996, and missed four months. Depending on the treatment plan devised by Dr. Thompson, Familia’s 2017 season may be a wash. As the Mets injury woes continue, it is becoming obvious that there is something wrong with either the front office, the coaching staff, or the clubhouse culture. The buck stops at the General Manager, Sandy Alderson, who needs to look at the health and wellness policies for the team.
Travis d’Arnaud, Noah Syndergaard, Yoenis Cespedes, Lucas Duda, Seth Lugo, Steven Matz, Brandon Nimmo, and David Wright have all fallen to injury prior to this news. The injury to Familia costs the Mets one more valuable arm. The Mets are in a free fall, and there are few assets to sell for future building. Terry Collins has major work to do and little in the way of time or materials to do it with.
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