TAMPA, Fla. — The New York Yankees are getting good news about their rotation behind Gerrit Cole.
Jameson Taillon became the second starter in two days to get off to a strong start in spring training after coming off injury.
Taillon, who had offseason surgery to repair a tendon in his right ankle, pitched two scoreless innings Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies.
“I’m definitely in a better position than I was before the surgery,” Taillon said. “It still feels like there’s something I can work on in the training room, some things I can do in the gym, like my running progression, jumps and things like that. But last year I was in a much worse position.”
Right-hander Luis Severino, limited to four late relief appearances in 2021 after undergoing Tommy John surgery on Feb. 27, 2020, made an encouraging outing against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. After that, Severino commented that, as for his health, he feels pretty good.
In his first season with the Yankees, Taillon went 8-6 with a 4.30 ERA in 29 starts. Prior to last season, he had not pitched since May 1, 2019, when he was with the Pittsburgh Pirates, due to surgery.
Severino’s two-inning outing was the first he’s pitched out of spring training in four years. He was injured while warming up for his first scheduled tune-up start of 2019.
“I felt like more nervous than I did in 2015 (his rookie year),” Severino said. “I pitched two innings, hopefully next time it’s three. I’m really excited about it.”
A 19-game winner in 2018, Severino signed a four-year, $40 million deal before the 2019 season. He was limited by shoulder discomfort to just three appearances that year, the first on Sept. on the 28th of the same month, in addition to a couple of postseason starts.
“Watching Sevie pitch yesterday made me very happy,” Taillon said. “She looked super healthy and strong. I think we have a lot of good arms.”
Nestor Cortes Jr., in contention for a spot at the bottom of the rotation, also had two strong innings against the Phillies.
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Yankees upbeat after Taillon start