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Fantasy Baseball 2018: Mets trade Jeurys Familia to Oakland

By Bill Pivetz

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 23: Jeurys Familia #27 of the New York Mets looks on after giving up two runs in the ninth inning against the Miami Marlins during their game at Citi Field on May 23, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 23: Jeurys Familia #27 of the New York Mets looks on after giving up two runs in the ninth inning against the Miami Marlins during their game at Citi Field on May 23, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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The Mets traded closer Jeurys Familia to Oakland. How does this trade affect both bullpens for fantasy baseball owners?

The New York Mets decided to traded one of their pitchers on Saturday. No, it wasn’t Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard. The team traded closer Jeurys Familia to the Oakland Athletics for two minor leaguers. With Familia moving west, this trade has a big impact on both bullpens for fantasy owners.

The A’s have been lucky with the improved performance from Blake Treinen, who was acquired at last year’s deadline. He has a 0.94 ERA, 0.979 WHIP, 11.4 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and 24 saves. The A’s didn’t make this trade to acquire another closer. They did it to bolster their bullpen.

The Seattle Mariners acquired closer Alex Colome back in May to help support Edwin Diaz. The Nationals acquired Kelvin Herrera in June. The Indians recently traded from Brad Hand.

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More teams are developing these “super bullpens” in order to shorten their starting pitcher’s usage throughout the season. The New York Yankees have been one of the main proponents of this over the last couple of seasons with their bullpen featuring Tommy Kahnle, David Robertson, Dellin Betances, Aroldis Chapman and a few others.

Having a one-two punch of Familia and Treinen at the back-end with Lou Trivino (1.22 ERA) as middle relief will help take some of the pressure away from the starting rotation. Going forward, though, I think Familia gets the first save chance with his new team.

MLB Trade Rumors believes that Treinen’s arbitration could be the reason why. “…in order to suppress his saves, a stat that holds an inordinate amount of weight in baseball’s arbitration process and would therefore help to drive up Treinen’s price tag in future seasons.” This is more of a financial decision than skill because I would call upon Treinen first based on recent performance.

If you own Treinen, just like Herrera earlier this season, his fantasy value takes a hit. The lack of consistent saves hurts. He will still be an effective pitcher but you may see him more in the eighth inning than the ninth.

Familia owners should feel safe with him on your team. Just don’t be surprised if Treinen takes a save or two away every week.

For the Mets, it looks like Robert Gsellman will be the closer. He’s recorded five saves with a 4.15 ERA, 1.314 WHIP, 8.3 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 this season. No other Mets reliever has recorded more than one save this season. Gsellman is owned in just 7.9 percent of ESPN leagues.

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Familia is just the most recent name is a soon-to-be long line of relief pitchers traded this season. Zach Britton is rumored to be next on the list. With two-plus months left of the season, these traded have a big impact on both mixed and AL/NL-only leagues.

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