New York Mets' Acquisition Thinks He's Figured Out 'Pitch-Tipping' Issues
Entering the upcoming season, the New York Mets made some savvy acquisitions this winter that should give their pitching staff some depth they didn't have initially.
The front office now knows Kodai Senga will be the ace of their staff for years to come, but they're hoping they can piece together a rotation behind him that allows the team to eventually compete.
They'll be able to evaluate Luis Severino in the short term after they signed him to a one-year, $13 million deal.
The former New York Yankees pitcher has had a frustrating career.
He was named an All-Star back-to-back seasons in 2017 and 2018, but has since been completely ravished by injuries after signing a lucrative contract extension in 2019.
That same year, he only pitched in three games because of right shoulder inflammation. He then underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020 and missed all of that season and only appeared in four games during 2021.
Severino returned to form in 2022, posting an ERA of 3.18 across 19 starts, but he struggled mightily last year with a 6.65 ERA in 19 games and 18 starts.
The Yankees' former ace thinks he knows why he struggled last season.
According to Andrew Battifarano of The New York Post, Severino said he's done a lot of studying of himself on the mound to see where he was tipping pitches the past few years during his struggles.
"There's a lot of things that I think I was doing wrong. I always have problems with tipping and stuff like that," he said at his introductory press conference in January.
If he truly has figured out the reason for how hitters knew which pitches were coming, then he should be a major addition to the Mets' rotation.
Severino was shelled when runners were in scoring position last season, giving up a slash line of 330/.404/.637 in 105 plate appearances.
Damage could be severely limited if he has cleaned things up.
New York will get a sense early on this year on if he was truly tipping pitches, or if his stuff has just gone that far downhill.
