What Luis Severino's Return Next Season Means For Yankees' Rotation
General manager Brian Cashman alluded to it last week.
Now, it's official.
The Yankees picked up Luis Severino's $15 million option for the 2023 season on Monday, insuring that the right-hander does not become a free agent this offseason.
Severino is coming off his first full season in pinstripes since a three-year stretch where he pitched in only seven games, sidelined with two significant injuries to his pitching arm (including Tommy John surgery in 2020).
The 28-year-old posted a 3.18 ERA over 19 starts in 2022, recapturing his form from earlier in his career when he served as New York's ace, making the All-Star Game in 2017 and 2018.
He even ended the regular season on a high note after missing a few months with a lat strain, throwing seven no-hit innings against the Rangers in Game 159.
New York doesn't need Severino to be a top-of-the-rotation starter moving forward, but he has the stuff to pitch at that level. Bringing him back, slotting him back into New York's staff behind Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes, raises the ceiling of that unit, one of the most consistent parts of a Yankees team that won 99 games and made it to the American League Championship Series this year. Yankees starters had a 3.51 ERA in 2022, the fourth-best mark in all of baseball.
Still, there are questions surrounding New York's rotation and whether this group has enough juice to push the Yankees over the hump in the postseason in 2023 and beyond. After those three hurlers, New York has Frankie Montas, a right-hander that was disappointing in pinstripes after he was acquired at the trade deadline.
Montas can elevate that group even more if he pitches to his potential in 2023, his first full season in New York, but there are no guarantees. The right-hander posted a 6.35 ERA in eight starts with New York after the trade deadline, landing on the injured list with shoulder inflammation as well. His numbers with Oakland suggest that he'll improve over a full season in the Bronx.
After Montas, the Yankees can choose internally from former prospect Clarke Schmidt and veteran Domingo Germán, both right-handers with experience in the bullpen. Schmidt has been yearning for a starting opportunity, relegated to relief outings or the rotation in Triple-A over the last couple seasons, while Germán has made 70 starts for the Yankees since 2018 (4.37 ERA in 92 total appearances with the Yankees).
The alternative, of course, is to add another arm or two in free agency or via trade this winter. Either way, keeping Severino around brings stability and electricity to the middle of New York's rotation. If the Yankees are able to add another starter this offseason—like Justin Verlander, Carlos Rodón, or even Shohei Ohtani—it'll make that staff even more dynamic.
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