Luis Severino:Â Forearm soreness
Severino noticed forearm and elbow soreness dating back to his last start in the offseason against the Houston Astros. During the offseason, he has had MRIs and CAT scans that have failed to show anything wrong. As he started his pitching routine in spring training, he noticed he had no trouble with his fastball or in his slider but found he had forearm soreness when he threw his changeup. Manager Aaron Boone had him undergo tests with New York Yankees team physician Dr. Chris Ahman on Friday which also showed nothing wrong, but with the soreness persisting Boone shut him down and has sent him back to New York where he will go through a battery of tests with Dr. Ahman at New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Monday.
In a story by NYYNEWS.com’s Adam King, the writer suggests that Luis Severino has forearm stiffness/tightness. This has long been known to be the sign the UCL has torn/been blown out. In this writer’s opinion, it is far too early to make those assumptions, until all the further testing has been completed. If it is a blown-out UCL (ulnar collateral ligament), it will be very bad news for the Yankees and could cause their ace to lose his second season in a row.
James Paxton: Back surgery
Just before spring training started, pitcher James Paxton underwent back surgery. Paxton’s surgery became necessary when he was no longer responding to treatment for back pain. Paxton had a Microdiscectomy. The operation consists of removing a portion of the intervertebral disc, the herniated or protruding portion that is compressing the traversing spinal nerve root. He also had a cyst removed. Luckily for the Yankees, his 3 to 4-month rehab from the surgery, which would have allowed him back into the rotation sometime before the All-Star break, now appears to be shorted to enable his return as early as June. Yet this still causes some concern.