Luis Severino’s time with the Yankees ended in an emotional postgame when he discussed sustaining a high-grade left oblique strain on Sept. 8, 2023 after a nightmarish outing against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Even if Severino completed the season without getting hurt, by that point it was apparent the Yankees would not make any kind of effort to re-sign him in free agency and about three months later, he signed a one-year, prove-it deal with the New York Mets.
Severino wound up pitching 182 innings, his most since 2018 when he followed throwing 193 1/3 innings by tossing 191 1/3 in a two-year span when he was a combined 35-14 and warranted a five-year contract signed in spring training 2019 season before a litany of injuries limited him to 45 appearances and 209 1/3 innings over its duration.
Last season while Severino was enjoying winning 11 games and helping the Mets get to the NLCS following their rough opening two months, he did not throw a pitch against the Yankees but drew laughs and chuckles and discourse when he said his former team had “two hitters”, a reference to Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.
The quip referenced a group text chain with past and current Yankees and was made on July 19 after it was announced Severino was not facing team in Yankee Stadium. Severino watched all four games as the Mets swept the four-game season series which occurred while the Yankees were in their worst swoon of the season after winning 45 of their first 64 games.
Severino’s time in Queens lasted one season as he signed with the A’s on a three-year deal, the largest for a free agent in franchise history. His first 49 2/3 innings went pretty well but facing a lineup but the four against the Yankees did not and continued his struggles at his new home ballpark which can make things hairy for pitches especially on windy days.
“It’s tough to pitch here,” Severino said. “You have a routine for your whole life. You come here and you have to work around whatever you have here. It’s tough. But like I always say, this is what we have. We have to do anything we can to go out there and compete.”
The only hitters in the lineup Severino was joking about still on the Yankees are Judge, Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells, Ben Rice and Oswaldo Cabrera. Those hitters were a combined 5-for-10 off Severino, whose ERA climbed to 4.70 after he allowed eight runs and nine hits.
Even if they privately seethed about Severino’s remark or even considered the quip to be motivational bulletin board material, the Yankees know better not to air those opinions in public and opt for the diplomatic route as evidenced by what Judge told reporters in West Sacramento.
“It was great to face Sevy,” Judge said. “He’s always a tough at-bat. He’s a guy that’s got five or six different pitches and can work it all over the zone. He’s been one of the top pitchers in the game for a while.
“Guys just had good at-bats. We were able to put the ball in play. You put the ball in play against him; some good things are going to happen. We got a lot of traffic out there and sticked some singles out there to get some runs.”
Tagging Severino highlighted the Yankees’ first visit to the A’s current and alleged temporary home ballpark and they scored 29 runs on 38 hits. Eight of those were homers, including the three by Jasson Dominguez on Friday and Sunday, the Yankees finished with double-digit hits for the eighth time through 40 games.
Last year the Yankees had double-digit hits 51 times and this year’s offense appears more athletic even as it leads the sport in homers.
“I think he knew that (last year),” manager Aaron Boone told reporters about Severino’s quip. “i think he was having some fun.”
Severino’s quip may have had some validity at a time when the Yankees were slumping and even as they recovered to win 94 games and reach their first World Series since 2009, there were still some doubts about the offense.
The Yankees still have a ways to go until the real prove it time occurs in the setting of postseason baseball. In the meantime, they are setting it up well as the first Subway Series with the Mets looms next weekend and Soto’s return to get a look at a more athletic version of the Yankees.
“Up and down the lineup, we got guys who can produce and do damage,” Rice told reporters after his grand slam gave him nine homers. “It’s fun to see.”
