Luis Severino isn’t the same person who last made a start here at Yankee Stadium. Since September 2019, Severino has been through major surgery, a bunch of nagging injuries and a journey to become a better, more sustainable pitcher.
“And I have two more kids now too,” Severino said with a laugh Friday morning.
After pitching just 27.2 innings over the last three seasons, Severino made his first start at the Stadium — since Sept. 22, 2019 — Saturday afternoon. It was a big moment for him personally, being back on the big stage after a long journey through injuries. It was also a big moment for the Yankees, who did not spend on free agent pitching this winter, and need Severino to be the same caliber pitcher he was before the injuries began.
In some ways, though, Severino feels like he’s a better pitcher.
“My last start here, when I was healthy I used to get here and spend five minutes in the gym and go out after. Right now I have to spend an hour getting ready,” Severino said. “But since my last start here I have got a lot of different pitches. I throw a little cutter now... I got two different breaking balls, like a short one and then a big one. And my changeup has been moving different than before. I got a little sink movement on it.
“So I’m thinking if I can bring all those pieces together in one day, I think I can be successful.”
It’s been a while, but Severino was a very successful pitcher before the injuries hit him. In 2018, he finished in the top-10 in Cy Young voting. In his first 18 starts, the righty pitched to a 1.98 ERA over 118.1 innings. He had a .195 batting average against, allowed just six home runs and averaged almost 10 strikeouts a game.
In an 11-start stretch at the end of that season, Severino pitched just 55.1 innings, going 4-5 with a 6.83 ERA and a surprising .323 batting average against. He allowed 13 homers in that span. The next spring, he signed a four-year, $40 million extension — which runs through 2022, with a club option for $15 million and a $2.75 million buyout after this season.
Considering the brilliance he flashed in the first part of the 2018 season, that was a very team-friendly deal.
But just weeks after he signed it, Severino was shut down with a shoulder issue which turned out to be a lat tear that kept him out of the big leagues for five months. He pitched in the postseason of 2019, felt tightness in his forearm and needed Tommy John surgery in March 2020. He missed the entire COVID-abbreviated 2020 season and his return in 2021 was delayed by a groin injury and then shoulder tightness.
Severino pitched 7.1 innings last year out of the bullpen, which led to the Yankees’ confidence he could get back to an elite level.
“I think it mattered,” manager Aaron Boone said. “First and foremost, it helped us that he pitched really well and pitched in a meaningful role for us when we had to win. So I think that was good. And probably gave him a little more confidence, peace of mind going into the winter.
“Now it’s just about working and taking care of himself and getting himself prepared to start again, but I think I think there was a lot of value in it.”
And now the Yankees have to see how much they can get from Severino. Having pitched just 27.2 innings over the last three years, they have to be careful building up his workload. Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake said they will be flexible with his workload this season.
“Hopefully, it’s not too dissimilar from what we saw with (Corey) Kluber and (Jameson Taillon) last year,” Blake said, “in terms of just kind of trying to manage just general workload across outings and days off and things like that. So I don’t know if we have an expectation for him. ... It’s hard to even put out a number of where we get to on the back end.
“I just think we just kind of continue to monitor the situation and if we have to, we’ll be realistic about giving him a breather when we need to do things along those lines.”
