TAMPA, Fla. — Luis Severino has made it clear he prefers to be a starting pitcher.
Through a lat injury and Tommy John rehab, Severino’s goal was always to get back on the mound and stretch out enough to get deep into games. This winter has been no exception.
“I am working out, throwing bullpens, getting ready,” Severino said after the players’ union meeting here last week. When asked specifically about his role, Severino was beginning to get stretched out to start. “That’s the plan. I had been a reliever [at the end of last season], but I am a starter. So that’s the plan, stretch out as best I can.”
Severino will likely have time to stretch out. With the owners having locked out the players and no progress in negotiations heading into this week, when pitchers and catchers were scheduled to report to camps, spring training will have to be delayed. The scheduled March 31 Opening Day will likely be in danger of being pushed back, as well.
That gives Severino, who has pitched in 10 games since spring 2019, more time to build up back into a position to start games. It also gives the Yankees more time to think about how they want to use him.
They used him out of the bullpen when he finally made his way back from March 2020 Tommy John surgery last season and he was effective. He did not give up a run in six innings pitched, scattering two hits. He struck out eight and walked one in four regular-season relief appearances. He allowed his only run of the 2021 season in 1.1 innings of work in the Wild Card game.
Severino had been expected to return to the rotation and be a strong No.2 starter behind Gerrit Cole. The Yankees certainly have questions with their starting staff behind Cole. Jameson Taillon flashed some really good stuff, but ended the year needing ankle surgery. Nestor Cortes, Jr. was their most consistent starter and Jordan Montgomery is a solid back-end of the rotation lefty. Deivi Garcia could not find his way back to the big leagues after some success in 2020 and Clarke Schmidt missed most of the season with an elbow issue. Michael King has proven more useful as a reliever than a starter.
The Yankees could use a strong Severino in the rotation, but he might be better used coming out of the bullpen.
He has pitched a total of 27.2 innings in the past three years. There is no way the Yankees can expect him to jump up his workload dramatically and give them 100 innings. Especially since the injuries have come in bunches over the past three year.
Severino, who will turn 28 next week, had a shoulder issue in spring training of 2019. The Yankees extended Severino on what looked like a very team-friendly, $40 million deal over four years. He was coming off a season in which he finished ninth in American League Cy Young voting. As he warmed up for his very first spring training start after signing that deal, Severino felt something in his arm. That turned into a torn lat muscle, which held him out of that year until September.
In March 2020, it turned out that Severino tore his ulnar collateral ligament in the playoffs and he was shut down for Tommy John surgery. He was expected back in mid-summer, but had several setbacks, including a groin strain, and did not return until September of 2021.
The Yankees have to figure out how they can put him in position to give them the biggest impact this season. And then they have to make a decision on his $15 million option for 2023.
