Can the Mets Fix Luis Severino?
The New York Mets are taking a chance on Luis Severino.
The 29-year-old righty signed a one-year, $13 million contract with the team in December, and looks to prove that he can still headline a starting rotation. Before injuries took their toll, Severino was one of the most electrifying pitchers in the league with the New York Yankees.
The Mets are counting on Severino to return to that tantalizing form. Fortunately, in his introductory press conference, Severino was able to pinpoint some of the things that he was doing wrong in the 2023 season; this included tipping pitches.
“I always have problems with tipping and stuff like that,” Severino said. “I need to address that so when I go on the mound when the season starts, I can focus on pitching and forget about whether my glove is too high or too low… this is the right moment to do all those things.”
Severino also mentioned that he was making many other mistakes, including missing his pitch locations and “not focusing on the game”. He described his struggles as “small things together at once that I couldn’t handle at the same time”. This all resulted in a 4-8 record, a 6.65 ERA, and just 79 strikeouts in 89.1 innings, all of which were not Sevy-like.
The fact that Severino is aware of what he’s doing wrong, such as tipping pitches, should give the Mets an easier time in fixing these issues. Tipping pitches is a habit that is easy to remove, and it’s possible that he could have fallen into that habit because of his injuries.
Speaking of injuries, one of Severino’s new methods in avoiding them is getting more sleep. He described himself as “a really bad sleeper my whole life”, and even consulted with a sleep doctor.
After last season’s cratering, the righty is firmly concentrating on becoming the great pitcher he was in 2017 and 2018 when he was an All-Star, a Cy Young candidate, and the ace of the Yankees staff.
With Severino putting in the work, now it’s up to the Mets in assisting him in recapturing that coveted form.
