The Yankees are undeniably facing a challenging situation after suffering a 15-2 loss to the Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon. With three consecutive losses and defeats in six of their last eight games, the Bombers eagerly await significant reinforcements to strengthen the team.
Fortunately, Harrison Bader is expected to make his season debut soon, and starting pitcher Luis Severino is making impressive progress in his rehabilitation. In fact, manager Aaron Boone informed reporters on Sunday that Severino would commence a rehab assignment on either Wednesday or Thursday of the upcoming week. He will probably start his rehab with Single-A Tampa before gradually moving up through the farm system and eventually rejoining the Yankees.
Sevy has been grappling with a lat injury for several weeks and completed a 40-pitch bullpen session on Friday, simulating three innings. It is reasonable to assume that he will participate in at least three rehab games before potentially returning to the team.
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The Yankees require the 2022 version of Luis Severino:
The 29-year-old starter recently completed a strong bounce-back season in 2022. In 102 innings, Severino recorded a 3.18 ERA, 3.38 xFIP, and 9.88 strikeouts per nine innings. Additionally, he achieved an 80% left-on-base rate and a 44.3% groundball rate, demonstrating efficiency over an extensive sample size. In fact, this marked the first time Severino pitched over 100 innings since 2018, finally showcasing the talent that general manager Brian Cashman invested in years ago.
Cashman exercised Severino’s $15 million option, but given his struggles with staying healthy, it is difficult to justify extending his contract beyond the 2023 season. Hopefully, his recovery continues to advance, allowing him to positively contribute to the team, which is in dire need of improvement, especially concerning their batting order.