Luis Severino

New York Yankees: Max Scherzer becoming a reality after initial reservations

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Could the New York Yankees pursue Max Scherzer in a trade?

Are the New York Yankees serious about acquiring Max Scherzer?

After reports stated that the Yankees would have to give up a ton of assets to acquire National superstar pitcher Max Scherzer, it’s believed that GM Brian Cashman will do whatever it takes to trade for the building block.

SNY | John Harper: A report from Harper says a source said Brian Cashman will do “whatever it takes” to land Scherzer. The Nationals aren’t keen on letting their star walk without gaining a ton in a potential trade. The cost ultimately might be too much to consider, especially considering he’s a future Hall of Famer.

When considering the return of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees’ lineup is one of, if not the most intimidating in baseball. The immense talent featured is too much for any team to contain, which makes me believe the Yanks don’t necessarily need to bring in another starting pitcher.

“It has to be one of the most imposing lineups the game has ever seen,” a rival executive SNY on Friday. “Minnesota is having a great year offensively, but nobody can match the Yankees’ firepower from top to bottom, especially with everybody healthy.

However, if Scherzer is deemed to be available, the Bombers won’t hesitate to make a run at the pitcher. He would immediately upgrade the rotation exponentially and become the team’s ace.

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The rotation could look something like this:

1.) Max Scherzer

2.) Luis Severino

3.) Masahiro Tanaka

4.) James Paxton

5.) Domingo German

6.) CC Sabathia

When all are healthy, the Yanks have the best teams in baseball hands down. With the trade deadline being July 31, there’s no doubt he will be working tirelessly to bolster the team and provide support to supplement the injured players. Whether or not Scherzer will be a part of a potential deal is yet to be seen.

New York Yankees Injury Updates: Severino, Betances, German, and More

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New York Yankees, Luis Severino

As the season progresses, the New York Yankees players are finally coming off the injured list. Key players Didi Gregorius and Aaron Hicks have already made their return. Bomber’s sluggers Giancarlo Stanton is returning Tuesday against the Rays and Aaron Judge is expected to return later this week.

As the injury bug seems to be disappearing, there are Yankees players that are still suffering:

Luis Severino

Yankees’ ace Luis Severino (lat) will not return until after the All-Star break. However, Severino is expected to start throwing from a mound next week.

Dellin Betances

Dellin Betances (shoulder) has said that he is still dealing with discomfort and is not sure when he will resume throwing. It would not be a surprise if Yankee fans see Betances make his return after the All-Star break as well.

Domingo German

Domingo German (hip) was making a huge impact on the Yankees’ so-far successful season holding a 9-2 record when he suffered his injury. German said his hip has been improving and is becoming more mobile. He began throwing on flat ground, however, there is no timetable for his return yet.

Troy Tulowitzki

Troy Tulowitzki (calf) was making progress when he suffered another setback. Tulowitzki was pulled from his rehab game in high-A Tampa a few weeks ago and there have been no updates since. Manager Aaron Boone met with media today and said that he has nothing to say on Tulowitzki’s progress.

Ben Heller, Greg Bird, Jonathan Loaisiga, and Jacoby Ellsbury

These four Yankees will not see the field for some time. Big Yankee names Bird (foot) and Ellsbury (foot) are expected to not return until early to mid-August.

Why the New York Yankees don’t need Dallas Keuchel

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Should the New York Yankees consider looking into starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel.

While most are wondering if the New York Yankees will need starting pitching help in the next few weeks, it’s important to recognize the success enjoyed by the team thus far. Sitting at 34-18 on the season, the Yanks have been breezing by with tons of injuries plaguing the team.

Losing Luis Severino before the starting of the regular season and now without James Paxton, CC Sabathia, and Jonathan Loaisiga, the rotation is in a bit of trouble. However, I don’t believe that supplementing the losses with former Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel makes much sense.

The reality is, Keuchel wants a long-term contract in conjunction with a boat-load of cash. The Yankees don’t need to spend that time of money when the team is surviving and has one of the best records in baseball.

As long as they can survive until after the All-Star Break, the Bombers will be ‘okay’. Eventually, Severino will return and bring his talented arm with him, and Paxton is about half a week away from rejoining the starting rotation. The expectation is that he will feature on Wednesday against the San Diego Padres.

But reports have indicated that Paxton still isn’t entirely healthy, as he will wear a brace to mitigate the flaring of inflammation in his knee.

“Hoping that he’s in line now to join the rotation,” Boone said. “He’ll fly back to New York (Sunday) but we’ll all get together to make sure he’s ready to join us and make that call.”

Sabathia recently joined the injured list with inflammation in his right knee and will be out for a few weeks. Losing quality starters certainly advocates for the signing of Keuchel, but as long as the Yanks are surviving and winning games, bringing him in on an unnecessary contract isn’t justified.

How can the New York Yankees counter poor pitching?

Alternatively, the offense can make up for the lack of pitching talent. With Didi Gregorius nearing a return, the Yanks will have plenty of firepower to increase their run support to help the pitchers.  Gaining back Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton eventually will further bolster the lineup and make the signing of Keuchel redundant.

New York Yankees Injury Updates: Hicks’ Return, Judge Timetable, and More

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New York Yankees, Aaron Hicks

As the weeks go on, the New York Yankee’s main guys are starting to roll back in off the injured list. Yankee fans are anticipating the return of these players.

New York Yankees: Aaron Hicks preparing to make a return

Homering in his last triple-A game in his rehab assignment, Aaron Hicks will be returning to the Yankees’ roster Monday. He will most likely not be in the starting lineup but he will definitely be on an option on the bench.

Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge obtained an oblique injury on April 20th and has not resumed any baseball activities yet. It seems he will not return until late May or early June. However, manager Aaron Boone said, “[Judge] is making good improvements every day.”

Giancarlo Stanton

Injuring his bicep in early April, Giancarlo Stanton was taking steps back in the recovery process. After injuring his bicep, he obtained a shoulder injury during rehabbing. Stanton said that he believes the shoulder injury came from the bicep strain. The Yankees management believes that he will not be in the lineup anytime soon. It is worth noting however that Stanton was throwing before the Mariners game on Wednesday night. Stanton has also been working out at the minor league complex, where he was taking swings in the cage and doing some fielding work.

Didi Gregorius

Last season following the playoffs, it was announced that Didi Gregorius was to undergo Tommy John surgery. Gregorius has been rehabbing ever since the procedure and recently is making very positive progress. YES Network’s Meredith Marakovits talked with Didi yesterday prior to the game where he said, “I’m feeling pretty good, getting there, almost ready to go.” Gregorius has been traveling with the team and has been fielding groundballs, taking swings, and throwing consistently. His return is expected in the next few weeks, most likely in early June.

Dellin Betances

Dellin Betances (shoulder) was throwing a flat-ground at 60 feet before yesterday’s game and said to be feeling good. Betances has been traveling with the team and following their return to New York, he will begin to throw at 75 feet. He is making a positive improvement, but will not be returning anytime soon.

Luis Severino

General manager Brian Cashman confirmed that Luis Severino will not return until after the All-Star break. He is currently in a six-week shutdown, and will not be throwing until late May or early June. Once healthy again, Severino will most likely be given a multi-start rehab assignment before being reinstated to the active roster.

Greg Bird

Greg Bird (foot) is no longer wearing a boot but is still walking with pain. With a left plantar fascia tear, it seems Bird is not close to making a return anytime soon.

 

New York Yankees: Why There is No Need to Worry About Their Slow Start

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New York Yankees, Aaron Hicks

The New York Yankees have gotten off to a less than flattering 3-4 start in 2019, highlighted by losing two out of three to two of the league’s worst teams. There is disappointment with the four losses, but there shouldn’t be any worry, yet. There are a lot of contributing factors to their early struggles, so let’s review them.

Injuries

Obviously, injuries are the prominent factor in the Yankees early season struggles.10 main guys are on the IL in Jordan Montgomery, Miguel Andujar, Didi Gregorius, Aaron Hicks, Jacoby Ellsbury, Dellin Betances, CC Sabathia, Luis Severino, Troy Tulowitzki, and Giancarlo Stanton.

We know that Stanton will be back in about three weeks, and that Sabathia could possibly make his next start.

Hicks is just beginning baseball activities, Betances is throwing off a mound and should be ready for rehab soon, while Severino is still throwing on flat ground.

We don’t know a whole lot about the rest of the injuries. We’ll know in about 10 days weather the Yankees can start up Andujar again, or if he’ll need season-ending surgery.

Detroit and Baltimore are off to good starts

The Yankees have played two teams that got off to hot starts.

After taking two out of three against the Yankees, the Orioles went north of the border and took two of three from the Blue Jays before losing to the Yankees in their home opener on Thursday.

The Tigers started the season in Canada, splitting a four game series there. They came to New York to take two of three from the Yankees afterwards, then took their home opener against the Royals.

They aren’t alone

The Yankees are not the only World Series favorite to be losing a lot early. At 3-4, the Yankees are better than some other teams record wise.

The Red Sox are off to a terrible 2-7 start with the worst run differential in the MLB at -26. The Houston Astros have started off 2019 at 3-5. Like the Yankees, they have won the first game of each series and that’s it. Remember, the Yankees and the Astros play on Monday.

Off to the worst start in the MLB are the Chicago Cubs. After winning their opener, they have lost six straight to put themselves at 1-6.

This shows to tell that the best teams don’t always get out to hot starts.

This has happened before

Most years, the Yankees aren’t great out of the gate. They started 5-6 last year en route to a 100 win season.

In 2016, they started out 9-17 on the way to an 84 win season.

In 2009, the Yankees started out 3-4 as they would win it all come October.

The Yankees will get healthy and get back to normal. It may take a while, but they always seem to figure it out.

Morale of the story: the Yankees will be ok, and it’s just a matter of time until they win a lot of games and Baltimore and Detroit start to lose a lot of games. Sadly, it’s also just a matter of time until the team from Boston starts to win too.

New York Yankees: Dellin Betances to Start Season on Injured List

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During Tuesday’s spring training game on the YES Network, New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman announced in an interview that hard-throwing relief pitcher Dellin Betances will start the 2019 season on the injured list. Cashman said that in an MRI, he showed to have shoulder inflammation and the team is calling it a “shoulder impingement.” The team expects Betances to be throwing again “in 3 to 5 days.”

Betances had not been himself during spring training. He had an ERA of 5.40 in just four outings, and the team was concerned about his velocity. His fastball was only reaching 88 to 92 mph, much lower than his 96 to 100 mph average. He has had issues with getting off to a fast start, literally. His ERA is always a bit higher in the early part of the season, and way high in spring training with his strikeout rate lower.

More Injuries

This now leads to even more early season injury concerns from the Yankees. Though he is the only bullpen guy out right now, the Yankees are down two starters in CC Sabathia and Luis Severino. Aaron Hicks will not be ready until at least the second series of the season, Didi Gregorius is out until summer because of his Tommy John surgery, and who knows about Jacoby Ellsbury.

Like last year, the Yankees will need to have a “next man up” mentality to fill these roster spots. Young guys will be stepping up and providing a lot to start the season, especially on the pitching staff. Those pitchers may be Jonathan Loaisiga, Domingo German, Stephen Tarpley, and Luis Cessa.

New York Yankees: How Concerned Should We Be About Luis Severino’s Injury?

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On Monday, the New York Yankees presumed ace Luis Severino was scratched from his first spring start due to what the team called “rotator cuff inflammation” and will be shut down for two weeks. Yankees skipper Aaron Boone said that it is “highly unlikely” that Severino will start the season with the team, forcing the Yankees to look for a new opening day starter. Severino was warming up in the bullpen and felt pain in his shoulder at about 1PM, 10 minutes prior to first pitch.

With Severino likely not on the 25 man roster to start the season, this leaves the fifth starting pitcher position wide open. Plus, how severe is Severino’s injury anyway? We’ll look into all of it right now.

Yankees: Severino’s concern level

From what we hear, the Yankees are not particularly concerned about Severino…. yet. When he had his MRI Tuesday, the results came back quite clean. With that being said, he should be cleared after two weeks if his shoulder isn’t hurting. No Tommy John surgery has been recommended, but if he continues to have pain after the two weeks, the team will grow more concerned.

The plan is to begin a throwing program after the two weeks, then get him some in-game action before camp breaks and the team heads to Washington for an exhibition. My guess is that he would spend a week or two in extended spring training before going to Trenton and/or Scranton for a few rehab stints. Remember, CC Sabathia is also a few weeks behind due to his offseason heart surgery and will also likely not be on the opening day roster.

Options from free agency

When talking about free-agents, two names come into the minds of Yankees fans: Dallas Keuchel and Gio Gonzalez.

In 2018, Dallas Keuchel had a rather down season, his ERA at 3.74 in just over 200 innings. A lot of people thought that the Yankees might push towards him more than signing JA Happ or acquiring James Paxton. But the team didn’t and now heading towards the middle part of March and spring training, he remains a free-agent.

Gio Gonzalez had an ERA last season of 4.21, but remained effective with a 10-11 record in just over 170 innings. Gonzalez, now 33, was a former first round draft pick in 2004. He could still be a fit for any team, and his stats show those of an average fifth starter.

But which one is the better option? In my opinion, Gonzalez is. Gonzalez is older than Keuchel and is now fit to be a five starter, and will not want a whole lot of money. Keuchel was the Astros number one starter just a few years ago, but is now settling as more of a two or three starter.

If Keuchel was available after the 2019 season, the Yankees would jump right on board with him, but they have a solid rotation when healthy. Signing Keuchel would be expensive, and would force the Yankees to really rearrange their pitching staff once everyone is healthy. With Gonzalez, you can DFA or release him and not lose much of anything for your team or salary.

In-house options

The Yankees have a few guys who could replace both Severino and CC in the first few weeks of the season.

Luis Cessa is the first name Yankee fans jump to. Cessa hasn’t had it that great so far in the big leagues, an ERA a bit under five and a 5-11 record. He is slowly improving, but the problem is that he’s out of options. If he starts in the MLB this season, to send him to Scranton they must DFA him and hope he clears waivers.

Domingo German struggled last year for the Yankees, making some starts for injured pitchers in the springtime. His ERA was over 5.50 and won just two games in 14 starts. But his start this spring has been promising, giving up no runs thus far in 4 2/3 innings.

Jonathan Loaisiga, or “Jonny Lasagna” also made a few starts last season, but had an ERA over five despite going 2-0. He definitely needs some more work, and got hammered on Tuesday against the Cardinals, giving up four runs in 2 1/3 innings.

It remains unknown how the Yankees will fill Severino’s hole to start the season, but either way the team goes, there are options.

Can The New York Yankees Trust Luis Severino As Their Ace In 2019?

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New York Yankees, Luis Severino

The New York Yankees re-signed starting pitcher J.A. Happ to be their ace in 2019, but Luis Severino could bounce back in a big way after a lackluster second-half to the 2018 season.

Severino finished the year with a 3.39 ERA, allowing 19 home runs and striking out 46 batters. The first half of the season for the Yankees youth product was fantastic, but he fell off after the All-Star break. Reports have indicated that the Yankees were “absolutely convinced” Severino was tipping his pitches.

How did they know?

In game 3 of the ALDS, Luis started the game, allowing six runs and seven hits in 3-plus innings. The cameras caught Red Sox players predicting his pitches regularly.

This is purely a fundamental lapse – something that Severino can correct for the future.

Before the All-Star break, he earned an ERA of 2.31 and went 14-2. After, he went 5-6 with a 5.57 ERA. Those number differentials are significant, and it has to indicate a consistent mistake that teams began to notice. I would expect the Yankees to work on hiding hid pitches a bit better and changing his pre-pitch action.

You could raise the argument of a potential injury affecting his velocity, but FanGraphs proves otherwise. On opening day, Severino threw his fastball 97.9 mph, and in his final regular-season start he threw 97.3 mph. This would prove that he was healthy and not fighting through a hidden ailment.

It seems as if the Yankees simply didn’t catch the trend of Sevy tipping his pitches, which is unacceptable. They need to be more aware of his tendencies and provide him with the support he needs to operate at a premier level.

Moving forward, I expect the pitching coaches to focus on hiding his pitches and extracting the most value form Severino. It’s very possible he returns next season in full-form and has a more consistent season.

 

 

 

 

New York Yankees: Why Is Luis Severino Struggling – Can He Fix It?

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New York Yankees’ 24-year-old ace Luis Severino has shown a mid-season struggle as of late. In his last four starts through 19.1 innings pitched, Sevy has allowed 33 hits, 19 earned runs and 7 home runs – recording an 8.84 ERA. In those innings pitched, batters are hitting .384/.418/.698/1.115 against him.

He has allowed just 32 hits in his previous 47.1 innings pitched before things started to go south for him on July 7th against the Toronto Blue Jays. In his 18 starts before those last four, he posted a 1.98 ERA through 118.1 innings pitched, with allowing just six home runs and batters only hitting .195/.251/.282/.533 against him.

It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly the issue is here. In his last four starts, he is throwing 70% strikes compared to 68% strikes in the previous 18 starts. His BB% has actually gone down to 2.1% in the second half of the season from a 6.4 BB% in the first half.

The most alarming stats I have seen that should warrant concern for the front-end starter are his line-drive percentage, home-run per fly-ball percentage, and his hard-contact percentage. In his first 18 starts, Sevy has induced a 25 LD% – that number soars up to a 36 LD% in his last 4 starts. Just in July alone, Severino’s HR/FB% rocketed to a 25.9% from a 6.6% in the previous months. Same with his HC%, he is allowing a 39.8 HC% in July from a 32.0 HC% prior to July.

Put simply, he is throwing just as many strikes but is allowing batters to make way more hard contact, which in turn is producing more line-drives and more home runs. Prior to those struggling 4 starts, batters against him only averaged a .273 BAbip – in those 4 starts, a .433 BAbip. He has become extremely hittable since that July 7th start, and there could be a few reasons why.

Could Luis Severino be injured?

When comparing his best outing of the season to his worst, it seems he has lost some velocity on his pitches. On May 2nd in Houston, Sevy tossed a complete game shut out. In that game, he threw his fastball 55% of the time, his changeup 15% of the time, and his slider 31% of the time. The average velocity for each pitch in that outing was: FB – 99.0mph, CH – 89.4mph, SL – 89.4mph. His most recent start, arguably his worst, was July 28th at home against Kansas City where he threw for 4.1 innings and allowed 6 earned runs. In that game, he used his fastball 53% of the time, his changeup 6% of the time, and his slider 41% of the time. A similar approach, but the average velocity of each pitch was: FB – 97.5mph, CH – 87.4mph, SL – 88.2mph.

Is he tipping pitches?

This seems unlikely considering Severino’s caliber as a pitcher, but if that IS the case, that would explain why batters have been squaring up on his pitches more easily. A few ways that batters can anticipate the pitch before it leaves the mound is with different arm angles, motion speeds, glove positioning, and pitch grip visibility. This is a relatively easy fix – some video tape work and assessing body language and motion can help Severino take note of any hints he may be giving batters and can adjust accordingly.

Maybe Sevvy is just going through a mental slump?

When he has been lights-out all season, people sometimes forget that he’s still a human who is going to have blips throughout the year. In a post-game interview with catcher Austin Romine after the 7/28 outing, he stated that, “[Severino] was kind of scattered all over the place. I was trying to reiterate to him to stay down the zone and throw through me. He was kind of inconsistent with his fastball today,” according to the New York Times.

Severino is slated to open up the series against the Red Sox in Boston this week. Whatever the case may be, hopefully he can reset and put those last 4 starts behind him. With Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez out of the lineup, we will need our #1 starter on his A-game to hold down the Red Sox’s offense.

New York Yankees Sign Luis Severino’s Little Brother, Just 19 Years-Old

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The New York Yankees are showing their loyalty to ace pitcher Luis Severino, by signing his little brother Rafael Severino. At just 19 years-old, mini-sevvy will join the ranks of Dominican Republic academy for the Yankees.

The best part, Luis was given the task of telling his little brother, in which he reacted like any normal person would, according to ESPN:

“He was flipping out. He didn’t believe it,” Luis said at Yankee Stadium on Monday afternoon.

“Yippee … sign me up for that,” Boone said. “It’s definitely good to have another Severino in the mix.”

“When he went to the academy, it was like, ‘Oh my God. This is so amazing. This is great,'” Luis Severino said. “I say, ‘This is the bottom line. This is the first step. If you start working, that’s nothing.'”

Luis spent a good chunk of time struggling and refining his tool-box before having a stellar 2017, finishing with a 14-6 record and 2.98 ERA. So far in 2018, Sevvy has collected a resounding 13 wins and just two losses. He currently owns the top ERA in the MLB at 1.98. His abilities have been on full display this season and could be in a stellar spot to compete for the Cy Young award.

How fast does Rafael throw?

Luis’s brother, Rafael, currently tosses an 88-89 mph fastball, about 10 mph less than his older brother. At just 19 years-old, that’s a solid speed, and there’s no doubt he has room to grow now that he’s been enlisted in the Yankees’ camp.

“He doesn’t throw that hard, he’s really skinny,” Luis Severino said. “But when he gets stronger, he’s going to throw hard.”

Having a brother duo is always fun and exciting to watch. Maybe, someday, both will hold spots on the starting roster.