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The Mets have announced that 23-year-old right-handed pitcher Jeurys Familia will undergo surgery to remove bone spurs and loose bodies in his pitching elbow. Formerly one of the Mets' better pitching prospects, Familia was a starter in all but one of his minor league appearances until the Mets converted him to a relief pitcher this year.
Familia has split his time between the Mets and their Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas 51s, posting a 3.48 ERA and 6.26 FIP in eight appearances in the big leagues. Neither his strikeout rate nor his walk rate was all that impressive, and he gave up a couple of home runs, too, all of which explains the incredibly high FIP.
The Mets' bullpen has been one of the worst in baseball by ERA this year, even though several of the Mets' relief pitchers have been pretty good individually. While the team hasn't announced a timetable for Familia's return, he figures to be out for a while. Elbow surgery is never good news for a pitcher.