Last night, the Phillies made their first free agent signing after the league wide lockout ended on Thursday. The team signed reliever Jeurys Familia to a one year contract worth $6 million, and can be worth up to $7 million. Last season, the former New York Met had 65 appearances with a record of 9-4-1. Familia had an ERA of 3.94, allowing 26 earned runs over 59.1 innings pitched.
Familia has been the second veteran bullpen signing for the Phillies this offseason, as the team inked a deal with RHP Corey Knebel before the lockout started in December. Knebel is the projected closer for the Phillies this season, but Familia does in fact have experience in the closer role. The 32 year-old had 51 saves in 56 opportunities in 2016, which is easily his career high.
After taking an in depth look at the reliever, it shows that his three main pitches are his sinker, slider, and four-seam fastball, with his sinker being his most used pitch. Last season, his sinker averaged 96.4 miles per hour, his slider averaged 89.2 miles per hour, and his four-seam fastball averaged 97.2 miles per hour (https://www.pitcherlist.com/player/jeurys-familia/). Familia does use a splitter as his fourth pitch, but uses that in a small amount compared to the other three pitches.
Jeurys Familia will be joining Jose Alvarado, Connor Brogdon, Sam Coonrod, Corey Knebel, and more, as Dave Dombrowski looks to build up his Phillies bullpen. Familia will most likely not be the only Phillies signing during this free agency period, so stay tuned for more!