Mets closer Jeurys Familia may need surgery after being diagnosed with an arterial clot in his right shoulder, the team announced Thursday.
He will see Dr. Robert Thompson in St. Louis on Friday for further tests after being examined Thursday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. Thompson performed surgery on Matt Harvey last year for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS).
Familia blew his first save of the season in Wednesday's 6-5 loss to the San Francisco Giants. It marked his third straight day of work, the second time this season he'd done that.
"I feel great. My arm feels great," Familia said after Wednesday's game. "I just didn't have it today."
The righty underwent surgery in 2013 to remove bone spurs and loose bodies in his right elbow, but has not dealt with an arterial clot before. He has not been on the disabled list since 2013, but it appears he may be sidelined moving forward.
Familia has been one of the most taxed relievers with an NL-high 241 appearances since the beginning of the 2014 season as well as 13 postseason appearances. He's emerged as one of the game's elite closers and has played an important role in the Mets making the postseason each of the last two seasons.
This season, Familia has been uncharacteristically wild with the highest walk ratio of his career. He's walked eight batters in 9 1/3 innings, while allowing seven hits. Familia battled command issues earlier in his career but had made great improvements.
He missed the first 15 games of the season due to a suspension for violating MLB's domestic violence policy following an offseason incident.
It's possible Familia could miss several months or even the rest of the season, according to examples provided by former Mets pitcher Dillon Gee, who stressed that each case is based on the individual and the severity of the clot.
Gee, who is now pitching with the Rangers' Class AAA affiliate Round Rock, has twice undergone surgeries for blood clots. In 2012 when he was with the Mets, Gee had no feeling in his arm for two days, and had a severe blood clot in his right arm pit.
Gee had the option to take blood thinners but it would not have made much of a difference, and ultimately underwent surgery that was performed by Thompson. Gee said he was playing catch in about six weeks after the surgery, but did not return that season since he had the surgery in July and it didn't make sense to push it.
"It's whatever the rate the artery heals at," Gee told The Record in a telephone interview. "That rehab was really like any other rehab. Let it recover and (get) back to normal."
Last season while with Kansas City, Gee developed a blood clot near his collarbone, and this time underwent surgery for TOS, which is a more intensive recovery period. Harvey also underwent TOS surgery last July and missed the rest of that season.
"The surgical options depends on where he's having his clots," Gee said.
If Familia is sidelined, it puts even more burden on a Mets bullpen that is already overworked. The team is entering Friday's game at Milwaukee with its relievers having thrown 126 innings this year. As of Thursday, that was the sixth-most of any team in the majors.
Jerry Blevins entered Thursday leading all relievers with 20 appearances this year, and Addison Reed, who would step into the closer role if Familia is sidelined, is tied for the second-most appearances with 19. Hansel Robles and Fernando Salas have also both appeared in 18 games, which is tied for seventh-most in the majors.
If the Mets lose their closer, they will now be without their best reliever, starter (Noah Syndergaard) and position player (Yoenis Cespedes).
