It looks like Luis Severino will never throw a pitch for the New York Yankees during the 2020 MLB season. Severino was shut down early in spring training with arm issues. We now have more clarity with what’s going on. Severino needs Tommy John surgery according to Brian Cashman. A crushing blow to the Bronx Bombers.
The Yankees had injury problems a year ago. It looks like that theme will continue into 2020. Severino missed a significant portion of the 2019 season making just 3 outings a year ago. Severino could always light up the radar gun, but health has been a major issue. The timeline for this surgery usually takes 12-15 months so he will likely miss a chunk of next year too.
The Yankees rotation is crumbling. James Paxton is already out for 3-4 months after taking care of a back issue. Now Severino is done for the season. Where would the Yankees be if they didn’t sign Gerrit Cole? The rotation at the moment likely sits at Cole, Masahiro Tanaka, JA Happ, Jordan Montgomery, and maybe Michael King?
New York’s rotation looks a hell of a lot different than it would if Paxton and Severino were healthy. In fairness, both guys are hurt frequently. You can never have enough starting pitching. The Yankees tried like hell to trade JA Happ in the offseason too. Boy, does that look like a blessing in disguise that they never pulled the trigger on that move? They absolutely need Happ. The Yankees cannot afford to suffer more injuries to this rotation.
The positive for New York is the bullpen is still intact. It doesn’t get much better than Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton, and Adam Ottovino. As long as those guys perform like they did a year ago, they will make up for any close games in the late innings. Still, losing Severino is crushing. There’s no denying it.
