Luis Severino is eager to make an appearance on the mound this week. Though the Yankees are planning to bring him only after a few rehab games with the Triple-A RailRiders, the starter can’t wait and he is vocal about it.
The Yankees have placed him on the 60-day injured list and Luis Severino has been out with a lat strain since the final week of spring training. But, now, he is openly skeptical of the Yankees’ rehab plan for him, believing that his injury necessitated only three or four missing starts before he began pitching in MLB.
However, It seems that Luis Severino will miss nine or ten starts, depending on how his rehab stay in the minors goes before the Yankees call him back up. And the starter doesn’t agree with it. The New York Post quoted him saying;
“But hopefully, for now on, they trust me more and try to let me compete more.”
Luis Severino at odds with the Yankees rehab plan
According to the Yankees’ plan, Luis Severino will begin his rehab assignment in Triple-A this week. The Yankees initially planned to start it last week but then changed their minds and made him throw another simulated game on Friday in Tampa.
Before Sunday’s rubber match between the Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays, Luis Severino was candid with the media about why he opted to throw a simulated game on Friday rather than begin a rehab assignment. Here is what he said:
“I think it was unnecessary not to throw in Low-A. I do whatever they tell me to do. But I feel good.”
When asked what he thought about the Yankees‘ rehab strategy, he responded with a grin and said, “They tried to, but whatever.”
Luis Severino explained that in situations where his desires were in disagreement with the team, he might not be able to proceed with his plans. However, he expressed hope that the team has greater confidence in him and allows him more opportunities to compete.
“If I’m the only one who wants something and they don’t agree with that, they’re not going to let me do something,” Luis Severino told. “But hopefully, for now on, they trust me more and try to let me compete more.”
While speaking with the media about his healing process from a strained lat suffered in the final week of spring training, Luis Severino was jovial and excited. He even cracked witty jokes in the process. However, his disappointment with the Yankees‘ handling of his comeback was apparent.
Luis Severino had initially wanted to miss only three or four starts after the injury in late March, and the Yankees appeared to be on board with that timeline. Rather, if everything goes according to plan, he will return to the rotation in late May after missing nine or ten starts.
The Yankees have chosen to have Luis Severino throw another simulated game on Friday, according to manager Aaron Boone, so that they could have a more controlled atmosphere.
Luis Severino remains injury prone
The previous few years of Luis Severino’s Yankees career have been plagued by injuries. He made 31 starts in 2017 and 32 starts in 2018, both of which were All-Star seasons. After Tommy John surgery, a groin injury, and a shoulder injury, New York thought they had found their next ace. Instead, he made just three starts between 2019 and 2021.
However, in 2018, he made 19 starts and threw 102 innings while posting a 3.18 ERA. The Yankees may be proceeding cautiously with Luis Severino since they are banking on him regaining his stamina in 2023. They bar him from WBC national duty fearing injuries. However, the right-hander is positive that he is now prepared to show his team that he belongs back in the rotation.
Luis Severino is scheduled to start his rehab assignment with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday, but the right-hander has expressed a preference for Thursday because the Wednesday game has an 11:05 a.m. start time and he does not want to spend the night in Scranton or drive in early that morning.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone has stated that a minimum of two rehab starts will be necessary for Severino to return to the Yankees rotation. His first rehab start is expected to last about 50 pitches. More seriously, the right-hander explained that he would benefit more from a rehab start than from a simulated game since he needs to get used to the pitch timer again and face hitters who are closer to the major leagues.
Boone noted that Severino’s significant injury history plays “a little bit of a role” in the Yankees taking it slow with his recovery. Citing a lat strain last season that placed him on the 60-day IL, a decision with which Severino was publicly displeased.
“But it’s also an approach of building starting pitchers up conservatively and understanding that those pitches, whether it’s between 40 and 60 and 70, are the times you gotta be mindful,” Bone told. “When you make big jumps, history will tell you those are the times that pitchers can be a little more vulnerable to injuries.”
As Boone continued to speak, he made it known that the Yankees just want Luis Severino to get healthy so he can join their rotation and start making an impact once again. They’re all excited for that to happen.
