The New York Yankees’ rotation has been a strength this season. Gerrit Cole has been perhaps the best pitcher in baseball, Corey Kluber and Domingo German have turned their years around after rocky starts, and Jordan Montgomery overcame a bad outing earlier in the week to dominate the Chicago White Sox on Saturday night. Overall, it has been a good couple of months for the unit, as only Jameson Taillon seems to be struggling.
Fortunately for the Yankees, some reinforcements could be on the way. And it’s hard to think of a better addition to an MLB rotation than Luis Severino. The right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery in February 2020, but he is just about ready to make rehab starts, as he successfully completed another step in his recovery.
As a result, the Yankees could get a look at Severino against an actual opponent real soon, as NJ Advance media reported on Saturday.
According to Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone, the Bombers are “getting close†to giving the green light for Severino to pitch in a minor-league rehab game. It would be his first game action in more than a year.
The Yankees would welcome Sevy back
The righty, who was a dominant starter for the Yankees in 2017 and 2018, threw another simulated game at the Yankees’ player development complex Wednesday.
“The reports were glowing,†Boone said Saturday. “Velocity, shape of the slider, all of those things. He’s doing really well.â€
Severino is shaping up for an early-July return if he can start his rehab assignment next week.
Having Severino back would give the Yankees an extremely strong rotation that would allow them to better manage Taillon’s innings if that’s the direction they choose to follow.
Severino has a career 3.46 ERA with a dominant 1.15 WHIP in 530 innings, all with the Bombers, with 589 strikeouts to round out his resume.