Athletics sign veteran reliever following release from D-backs

The Oakland A’s have signed right-hander Jeurys Familia to a Major League contract, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray (Twitter link).  MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos reported earlier today that Familia was present in the Athletics’ clubhouse. Familia is represented by ACES.

It was a pretty quick trip through free agency for Familia, as he was only released Friday from his previous minor league deal with the Diamondbacks. Since Familia could’ve opted out of that minors deal on Saturday if Arizona hadn’t included him on its Opening Day roster, the D-Backs chose to release Familia and give him a bit of a jump on the rest of the Article XX(B) market.

That head start has now paid off in a guaranteed MLB contract for the 33-year-old reliever, as well as a familiar landing spot. Familia previously pitched for the A’s in 2018, joining the team after a trade deadline swap with the Mets. Over his previous 31.1 innings in the green-and-gold, Familia posted a 3.45 ERA, helping Oakland reach the AL Wild Card game.

Since that 2018 season, Familia’s performance has been quite inconsistent, with a couple of okay seasons in 2020-21 (at least in terms of bottom-line results) sandwiched in between rough years in both 2019 and 2022. Last season, Familia struggled to a 6.09 ERA over 44.1 combined innings with the Phillies and Red Sox, with below-average walk and strikeout rates as well as some of the hardest contact allowed of any pitcher in baseball.

Familia did look quite a bit sharper this spring in Arizona’s camp, with a 1.35 ERA over 6.2 frames of work. It wasn’t enough to win him a job in the Diamondbacks bullpen, but Familia will now bring a veteran presence to an Athletics relief corps that is short on MLB experience.  There is enough uncertainty in Oakland’s bullpen that it might not be a surprise if Familia ends up earning some save chances at some point, and given how the A’s are still in rebuild mode, Familia certainly looks like a potential trade chip this summer if he is pitching well.