Familia worried shortened season could 'cause a lot of injuries'

With baseball on hiatus, New York Mets right-hander Jeurys Familia is staying in shape with teammate Dellin Betances to ensure he's ready to pitch when baseball returns.

Even though Familia is confident he'll be able to physically endure the potential shortened season ahead, the Mets reliever is also worried about the health of some of his peers who haven't had the luxury of training like he has.

"I think it'll cause a lot of injuries," Familia told Pat Ragazzo of Metsmerized. "Most guys aren't fortunate enough to have the same level of training as me and Dellin."

A reported Major League Baseball proposal, which has not yet been approved by the players' union, apparently mentioned spring training restarting in mid-June, with the regular season starting at the beginning of July.

That would give pitchers only a few weeks to get stretched out and ready to throw in games that count.

Thanks to their work with celebrity trainer Dave Paladino at Impact Zone Fitness in Norwood, New Jersey, Familia and Betances both feel prepared should the season return quickly.

"Thank God Dave is allowing us to use his facility so we can throw every day, stretch out our arms, and get the proper physical training we need to prepare," Familia said.

Familia pitched through a dreadful 2019 campaign, authoring a career-worst 5.70 ERA after signing a three-year deal with the Mets.

To avoid the same kind of results, the Dominican lost 30 pounds and reworked his pitching repertoire during the offseason.

Meanwhile, Betances is feeling good from a physical standpoint after missing all but one game last season due to multiple injuries. His velocity was down during Grapefruit League action a couple of months ago, but he's not concerned about it.

"It's good right now (my velocity)," Betances explained. "It's typically down every year in spring training for me. It has always been low early in the season so I'm not worried. My body feels great and I'm doing everything I can to stay prepared."

Before 2019, Betances recorded 100-plus strikeouts in five consecutive seasons as a reliever for the Yankees.