What should the Yankees do with Luis Severino?
No one can deny that Luis Severino is dominant for the New York Yankees when he pitches. However, his ability to stay healthy over the course of a full season has raised questions.
Severino is the longest-tenured Yankee, having been on the team since he was called up in 2015. Since then, he is 50-29 with a 3.35 ERA, 719 strikeouts and 185 walks. He has essentially been a co-ace for the Yankees, first alongside Masahiro Tanaka and now with Gerrit Cole.
The big issue is that Severino has missed a lot of time due to injury. He started the 2023 season on the IL with a low-grade lat strain and didn't make his season debut until May 21 in Cincinnati.
The right-hander only pitched 12 innings in 2019 due to multiple injuries and didn't pitch at all in 2020 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. His injury issues lingered into 2021, when he pitched six innings.
So where does the team go from here and what should it do with Severino, who's a free agent after the season?
For the right price, the Yankees should keep him. He's only 29 and has proven that when healthy, he can be a key factor in New York's championship aspirations.
Another reason the Yankees should keep him is the team lacks depth in the starting rotation. New York signed Carlos Rodón to a six-year contract this past offseason, but he has yet to pitch due to injury. New York traded lefty Jordan Montgomery to the St. Louis Cardinals last year for outfielder Harrison Bader and lost righty Jameson Taillon in free agency.
Keeping Severino keeps the rotation intact with players the team knows they can win with. However, there's a man on the West Coast by the name of Shohei Ohtani who could change the team's mind in a New York minute if he wants to be a Yankee.
Ohtani, who won the AL MVP in 2021, will be the best free agent available after the season. He has shown he can excel as a hitter and pitcher. Signing him would instantly give the Yankees the best 1-2 pitching punch in baseball.
The only issue is that Ohtani will be costly, possibly a contract north of $500 million. Given that the Yankees signed Aaron Judge to a nine-year $360 million deal in December, it's unlikely they would add another megadeal to the books.
Severino is in the final year of a four-year, $40 million deal, and while a pay raise is likely in store, he won't command nearly what Ohtani would.
As a vital piece of the rotation, it's hard to imagine the Yankees without Severino. If he can stay healthy the rest of the season, GM Brian Cashman should be more than ready to offer him a new contract.
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