Mickey Callaway May Be Going To The Four Out Save Well Too Often

During spring training, New York Mets’ manager Mickey Callaway discussed the idea of not using a set closer too often. Callaway hinted at using his best relievers in critical situations, perhaps even bringing in Jeurys Familia in the eighth inning one night and letting someone else close. That has yet to materialize, as Callaway has been pretty conventional with Familia, using him as pretty much the team’s only closer throughout the first 20 games. That is all well and good, as Familia has been the team’s best reliever this season, but Callaway has pushed him past the traditional three out save quite often early on.

Over the Mets’ first 20 games, Familia has pitched in 12, including four times where he was asked to get more than three outs for a save. The strategy was decent early since the Mets had a ton of off days built into their schedule, but it may be beginning to catch up to Familia. Familia blew his first save of the year on Monday, when he completed the bullpen’s eighth inning meltdown against the Washington Nationals. After A.J. Ramos and Jerry Blevins combined to give up two runs in the eighth last night, Callaway went to Familia for the final out of the inning. Familia accomplished his task, striking out Preston Tucker to end the eighth. With the bottom of the order coming up and Paul Sewald warming in the bullpen, it made sense to get Familia out of the game quickly and trust Sewald to finish the game.

Callaway opted not to do that, instead asking Familia for another four out save. Familia responded by walking the leadoff man, giving up the world’s slowest hit triple to Johan Camargo, and losing the game on a walk off safety squeeze. After appearing in Friday night’s win, Familia is now likely unavailable for today, a fate that could have been avoided if Callaway pulled him after one out.

Part of the problem is that the Mets aren’t getting enough length from their starters, forcing the Mets to ask for more outs from their bullpen. Callaway has also used Sewald, Seth Lugo, and Robert Gsellman for multi-inning stints, which often prohibit usage for several days afterwards. This has left a heavy burden on Familia, Ramos, and Blevins, each of whom is on pace to appear in over 95 games this season. The loss of Anthony Swarzak hurts in this regard since he would have been able to lighten the load on them, but he is still weeks away from a return from an oblique injury suffered on March 31st.

Callaway needs to realize that the season is a marathon, not a sprint, and try to trust other relievers in the bullpen to record key outs. Sewald, who threw three innings of one run ball against Washington on Wednesday, should have been able to protect a one run lead against the bottom of the Braves’ batting order. This would have not only allowed Sewald to gain his manager’s trust, but also freed up Familia for an appearance in today’s game since he only threw a few pitches in the eighth inning. Instead, the Mets will likely be without Familia today in a game they need to try and get a series split.