The New York Yankees have been without two of their most dominate pitchers all season due to injury. Luis Severino and Dellin Betances have not made an appearance all year except for some spring training action. However, Severino and Betances are around the same spot in their rehabbing and can potentially make a comeback before the end of the year.
Severino has talked about taking a bullpen role when he returns where all he said was, “I just want to pitch.” Having Severino taking the mound in pinstripes in either role would be monumental for the club heading into the postseason. Betances was also the “go-to” guy during jams which would give the bullpen more depth.
Heading into the postseason, the New York Yankees will need to do something about their starting rotation. The current rotation is currently not strong enough to go up against the slugging Dodgers and deep-pitching Astros. With Severino and Domingo German starting games, the club will match other team’s pitching and no one will match the Yankees’ lineup.
Betances and Severino’s rehab
Betances threw a bullpen on Sunday and is closed to being cleared to face live hitters soon. There’s a very high chance that as long there are no major setbacks, Betances will be pitching for the Bombers in September.
Luis Severino faced live hitters Sunday at Yankee Stadium where he said he “felt great” throwing. He threw a 15 pitch simulated game after throwing 25 in the bullpen. He’s expected to throw another simulated game later this week in Tampa and following that he’ll begin a rehab assignment which should set his return for mid-September.