Ex-Red Sox Reliever Designated For Assignment By Awful Athletics

Jeurys Familia’s brief stint with the Boston Red Sox last season largely was forgettable.

The veteran reliever’s time with the Oakland Athletics this season hasn’t gone much better.

The A’s announced Thursday that Familia was designated for assignment. The move, which opens the door for Familia to potentially become a free agent, came as Oakland shook up its bullpen amid a terrible start to 2023.

The A’s also DFA’d Domingo Acevedo and optioned Adam Oller to Triple-A Las Vegas. Oakland replaced the three right-handed pitchers with three other righties: Spencer Patton, Austin Pruitt and Rico Garcia.

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Familia, a former closer with the New York Mets, earned an All-Star selection in 2016, a season in which he totaled a Major League Baseball-leading 51 saves. He ultimately spent parts of 10 seasons with the Mets, enjoying varying levels of success as a key piece of New York’s bullpen.

Familia signed with the Philadelphia Phillies before last season and struggled mightily in 38 appearances, leading to his release and eventual signing with the Red Sox. He posted a 6.10 ERA in 10 appearances (10 1/3 innings) with Boston while striking out eight, walking seven and surrendering 10 hits.

The Arizona Diamondbacks brought in Familia for spring training, which proved to be a pitstop for the 33-year-old en route to a big-league deal with Oakland. He simply hasn’t performed with the A’s, though, posting a 6.39 ERA in 14 appearances (12 2/3 innings), and they’ll thus turn elsewhere in the hopes of finding some stability from the mound.

Oakland entered Thursday with a 6-25 record, the worst mark in MLB, and pitching has been a huge issue over the first month.