Familia out several months after surgery for blood clot

The injury news just keeps getting worse in Queens.

New York Mets closer Jeurys Familia will miss several months after undergoing surgery to repair a blood clot in his armpit area Friday afternoon, general manager Sandy Alderson announced, according to Newsday's Marc Carig.

It's unknown whether Familia will be able to return this season.

Alderson told reporters that Familia only felt the first signs of the problem - tingling in the ring finger of his right hand - on Wednesday. Despite that warning sign, Alderson said the Mets allowed Familia to pitch in Wednesday's game because the symptoms were minor.

In what was potentially his final outing of 2017, Familia threw one of his worst games in years, racking up a blown save while allowing four runs (three earned) and walking two in just one-third of an inning.

Familia's arterial blood clot was first announced by the club Thursday afternoon. At the time of the announcement, it wasn't clear if surgery would be necessary. The Mets sent him to St. Louis to be examined by Dr. Robert Thompson, who performed Matt Harvey's thoracic outlet syndrome surgery a year ago.

The 27-year-old Familia saved an MLB-best 51 games for the Mets one year ago, and owns a 3.86 ERA and three saves in 9 1/3 innings pitched this season. It's likely that Addison Reed - who's a perfect 4-for-4 in save opportunities this year with 22 strikeouts and no walks - will take over ninth-inning duties for as long as Familia remains sidelined.

Familia was officially placed on the 10-day disabled list earlier Friday afternoon, at which point he became the 10th different Mets player to land on the DL this season. He's one of eight members of the team currently out with an injury - a list that already included stars Yoenis Cespedes (hamstring), Noah Syndergaard (lat), and David Wright (neck).