PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Mets closer Jeurys Familia was noticeably absent during the first two days of spring training, delayed by a visa issue, the Daily News and MLB.com first reported. But he finally arrived Tuesday, and was made available for questions in the Tradition Field dugout.
Familia, who will most likely be suspended by MLB before opening day for an Oct. 31 domestic violence incident, answered only baseball questions on the advice of his lawyers.
He did not comment on the visa issue or go into specifics on why he was stuck.
“Just getting getting here together today, I’d really like to focus on baseball-related questions,” Familia said, through a translator. “My lawyers advise that I don’t speak about anything related to my case.”
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Familia played in the Dominican Republic winter league to get ready for the upcoming season. He did not comment on his suspension, but said his play in the Dominican has him prepared to start the season on time.
“I really enjoyed being with the teammates down there and sort of prepping and practicing down there,” he said. “Since I started pitching in the Dominican, that was my goal (to be ready).”
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The Mets are prepared to to be without their closer for an extended period of time. Right-hander Addison Reed, who started his career as a closer with the White Sox, is expected to fill in for Familia.
“I think you’ve got to be smart enough to realize there is probably going to be some kind of penalty,” manager Terry Collins said Monday. “I don’t know what it is. I have no idea yet. So I think you’ve got to into this right now making sure Addison Reed is ready to pitch in the ninth inning.”
Reed went 4-2 with a 1.97 ERA as the setup man in 2016. Catcher Travis d’Arnaud expects it to be a seamless transition.
“All the confidence in the world (in Reed),” d’Arnaud said. “He’s got a great mindset for a closer and he’s done it in the past and had success.”
Pitchers and catchers will have their first official workout of spring training Tuesday.
Familia, who led the league with 51 saves last year, will still be able to work out with the team while waiting to hear from the league. He’s also expected to pitch for Team Dominican Republic in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
“I’m very happy about this upcoming season,” Familia said, through an interpreter. “I think it’s a very meaningful one for us, just because we’ve now had two previous seasons where we’ve made it pretty far.”
Abbey Mastracco may be reached at amastracco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @abbeymastracco. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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