Mets Bring Back Familia on 3-year $30 Million Deal

The curious moves just keep on coming out of Flushing this offseason.

Just two weeks after the team traded two of their top prospects to get Seattle closer Edwin Diaz and aging second baseman Robinson Cano, the Mets went ahead and re-signed their old closer, Jeurys Familia to a three-year deal worth $30 million.

The stunning signing was completed Friday as the Baseball Winter Meetings concluded in Las Vegas.  Familia will make $6 million this year and $11 million in each of the last two years of the deal.

The return of Familia is surprising, considering the Mets went out and found his replacement in Diaz who is considered one of the best young closers in the game.

After nailing down 43 saves and a 1.85 ERA in 2015, Familia was never the same after blowing Game 1 of the World Series in Kansas City that season, as his ERA only rose over the next three seasons. Familia's Met career presumably ended last June when he was traded to the Oakland A's for two minor league prospects.  

Familia had to re-adjust into the set-up man role, and struggled giving up 12 earned runs in 31 innings for a 3.45 ERA.

The Mets are hoping that a second stint as a Met will do the trick for Familia, and give the Mets a 1-2 punch of Familia and Diaz in the eighth and ninth innings. If both deliver as expected, the Mets can shorten games.

Precedence however says otherwise. The Mets tried this last season when they brought back Jay Bruce on a three-year $39 million deal after trading him to the Indians for prospects. Bruce's return was a complete dud as the outfielder couldn't stay healthy and batting only .223 in 94 games. Bruce was finally traded to Seattle as part of the salary dump for Cano.

The Mets can only hope Familia's second stanza is 10 time better than that.