Good signs from Severino so far

TAMPA, Fla. — As Luis Severino threw his warm-up pitches Sunday, he couldn’t stop thinking about the last time he went through the same routine before a start at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

It was March 5, 2019 and having won 19 games and received his second All-Star call the previous season, Severino was ready to take another step towards super stardom.

Instead, Severino felt discomfort in his throwing shoulder after throwing a slider, ending his preseason before he had a chance to start it.

The right-hander ended up making just three starts in September 2019 before an elbow injury forced him to undergo Tommy John surgery in February 2020. Now he’s back and there he was back on the same mound getting ready for his first presentation of a new spring, one that for Severino and the Yankees marks the beginning of the next chapter in the 28-year-old’s career.

“Today I felt more nervous than [en mi debut] in 2015,” Severino confessed after the Yankees’ 8-7 loss to the Tigers. “I haven’t pitched in Spring Training since 2018 and just being here, whatever the outcome, made me feel really happy. after finishing my [sesión del] bullpen, I was relieved.”

The result wasn’t that great, though neither Severino nor manager Aaron Boone seemed remotely concerned. The right-hander gave up four earned runs and four hits with a walk, allowing a pair of runs in each of his two innings of work.

“Health-wise, I felt pretty solid,” Severino said. “My arm felt fine. The results were not so good, but the good thing is that I felt healthy”.

Severino kicked off his presentation by giving Robbie Grossman a free walk on four pitches, none of which went particularly close to the plate. But the Dominican seemed to find that command quickly, striking out Akil Baddoo on three pitches, including a third strike called at 97.4 mph on the radar.

Detroit scored a pair of runs on RBI singles by Javier Báez and Spencer Torkelson and then had two more in the second inning on a two-run shot by Grossman, who took advantage of a hanging slider to blow the center-field fence. .

“I have time to work on my pitches and I know that when I need them, my slider, my changeup and my fastball will be there,” Severino confided. “Today was more about feeling good.”

Severino’s fastball consistently hit 97-98 mph, while his slider looked good most of the time. Localization was the biggest problem, by far; he threw 13 balls and 25 strikes during his 38-pitch outing.

“Health and the stuff,” Boone responded when asked about the most important aspect of Severino’s spring. “How did his material look? To me, he looked like Sevy himself. I thought the few sliders I could see from the side, the depth was there. The speed was there. He is throwing free and easy.”

The Yankees are confident that Severino will return to his pre-2019 form, when he was named to the All-Star Game twice, in 2017 and 2018. Although another weight trade by the Bombers is not ruled out – the A’s are rumored to be willing to trade lefty Sean Manaea and righty Francelis “Frankie” Montás – the Yankees’ rotation currently consists of Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon, Severino and Jordan Montgomery, while Cuban Néstor Cortés Jr. is the leading candidate for stay with the position of fifth starter.

Boone said he hopes Severino will return to his old form if he’s healthy.

“He’s been a great pitcher in this league,” Boone said. “He has shown it and now what he has to do is get on the field and stay healthy, which I think he is. If he manages to do that, I wouldn’t be surprised if he went very far this year.”

Severino believes he and Cole can form a deadly duo at the top of the rotation, though he paused when asked if they would both be capable of challenging the Mets’ Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom for the unofficial title of best 1-2. in the Majors.

“Scherzer and deGrom? I don’t know,” Severino responded. “Cole is a great pitcher and if I’m healthy, I know what kind of pitcher I am. I’m excited to throw after him [y tratar] match their performances.”