Luis Severino hopes to spend ‘rest of my life’ with Yankees despite rehab frustrations
Luis Severino has never been shy about how he feels. The Yankees’ oft-injured starter often mixes a direct approach and dry sense of humor when answering questions, especially when they’ re about his rehab timelines. “This is the only team that I know,” Severino, an impending free agent, told the Daily News.“ I would love to be here the rest of my life.”.
Luis Severino has never been shy about how he feels.
The Yankees’ oft-injured starter often mixes a direct approach and dry sense of humor when answering questions, especially when they’re about his rehab timelines. That blunt honesty makes Severino a strong quote — and believable when he states that he wants to spend his entire career in pinstripes.
“This is the only team that I know,” Severino, an impending free agent, told the Daily News. “I would love to be here the rest of my life.”
The right-hander said that Monday, a day after he expressed frustration over how, in his opinion, the Yankees have slow-played his recovery from a low-grade lat strain suffered at the end of spring training. He hoped the injury would only cause him to miss three or four starts.
On Sunday, Severino said it was “unnecessary” for him to throw a simulated game last Friday before beginning a rehab assignment this week, and he made several one-liners that not-so-subtly hinted at his dissatisfaction. But he added, “I know they want the best for me.”
Severino was even more agitated last season when a lat strain ultimately transferred him to the 60-day injured list, a delay he didn’t anticipate or appreciate. The Yankees, citing Severino’s injury history, also prevented him from pitching in the World Baseball Classic in March.
All of that has led some to wonder if Severino and the Yankees are destined for a divorce this offseason.
But Severino insisted there are no dots to connect, nor is there any bad blood.
“I love the Yankees,” he said. “Just been having some miscommunication with some training staff and the people that make the decisions about where to start with all my pitches and all that.”
He added that his remarks “have nothing to do with” his overall opinion of the organization. When he takes issue with a slow rehab schedule, he said it’s just a matter of him itching to pitch — not some lingering grudge he plans on holding against the club.
Aaron Boone interpreted Severino’s most recent displeasure the same way while noting that the pitcher’s past has influenced conservative timetables, though the Yankees generally take that approach with rehabbing hurlers.
“He wants to pitch,” Boone said Sunday. “He wants to get back here. He wants to get in the rotation. He feels good. So I just look at it as a competitor wanting to go.
“We want healthy Luis Severino back in our rotation impacting us. We’re all looking forward to that.”
Of course, there’s always the chance that Severino is hiding his true feelings, as saying he has no interest in remaining a Yankee would take away some of his already-limited leverage this winter. And there’s also the possibility that the Yankees won’t be interested in re-upping with the fireballer given his injury history.
Severino has pitched in just 26 games since 2019, including 19 starts last season, when he recorded a 3.18 ERA. The former Cy Young finalist has battled multiple lat strains, rotator cuff inflammation and Tommy John surgery, among other injuries, since signing a four-year, $40 million extension in February 2019.
The Yankees exercised a $15 million fifth-year option on the deal this past offseason, a no-brainer given the look of the team’s rotation depth at the time.
In a few months, another decision will come with the potential for other suitors to have a say. First, Severino has to rejoin the Yankees this season — he hopes to only make two rehab starts, but the team may require more — but he knows free agency is on the horizon.
“This is a business. At the end, we don’t know what’s gonna happen,” Severino said. “Hopefully, I can be here for the rest of my life.”
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