New York Yankees: What Severino’s Role Could Be if he Returns

New York Yankees, Luis Severino
Oct 3, 2018; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino (40) celebrates after making the last out while bases were loaded during the fourth inning against the Oakland Athletics in the 2018 American League wild card playoff baseball game at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees are anticipating that their ace who hasn’t pitch a single major league inning this season, will return soon. Luis Severino has been on a throwing program where he’s been throwing bullpens and simulated games. The Yankees are working him up to 60 pitches before he begins a minor league rehab assignment.

I think what the Yankees should do is use Severino in an opener/bullpen kind of role. A strategy they could use is using Chad Green as an opener, then moving to Severino to get three or four innings before heading into the bullpen. The Yankees will get about four of five innings of their hardest throwers before they move into their bullpen who all have an arsenal of pitches.

Another thing the New York Yankees could do is just put Severino back as a starter. However, we haven’t seen him as a dominate starter in over a year. Not pitching this season and then having a rough second half last season, fans haven’t seen Severino consistently dominate in a long time. However, he is on a normal five-day routine of a starter in his throwing program, so this might be what the Yankees go with.

Severino threw a simulated game Thursday down in Tampa. Manager Aaron Boone said, “assuming everything goes well with him bouncing back tomorrow, he’ll be on that five-day rotation now. He’ll throw another side in between, probably have a more extensive sim game next time out in five days. If that goes well, then in five days maybe some game action after that.”