Severino throws off mound for 1st time since surgery
TAMPA, Fla. — A day after getting bad news about their bullpen, the Yankees got some good news for their rotation. Luis Severino threw off the mound for the first time since Tommy John surgery on Tuesday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
“He threw off the mound Tuesday. I watched him throw roughly 20 pitches. It went really well,” the Yankees manager said. “He looked great. Hebounced back, recovered well. [Wednesday] was a no throw day, so he’ll play catch again today, out to 90 feet or whatever. I’m not sure if his next bullpen is tomorrow or the next day, but his first go on the moundwent really well, and he is basically just still on schedule from what you expected.”
The recovery process from Tommy John is tedious, even after getting back on a mound. Severino will begin by throwing all fastballs in short sessions and then have to incorporate all his other pitches as he builds up his pitch volume. Then he will have to face batters and finally see some game competition in the minor leagues to finetune before returning to the big leagues.
Still, a day after learning the Yankees were losing Zack Britton, their best reliever, for a few months after surgery to have a bone chip removed, this was a shot in the arm.
“Just watching him play catch the way his body is, the kind of shape he’s in ... And in the free
and easy way in which he’s throwing, he was really efficient the other day,” Boone said. “He was really kind of throwing it exactly where he wanted, he was coming out hot. We almost said ‘Hey, back off a little bit it’s coming out a little too well,’ but he wasn’t working for it necessarily.
“So really encouraged about where he’s at to this point.”
Severino could be a big boost for an uncertain rotation in June or July if he is able to get through his rehab without setbacks.
The Yankees have Gerrit Cole and then a lot of questions in their rotation right now. They have great potential, especially with two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon, but both are coming back from major injuries. So far, Jordan Montgomery, Domingo German and Deivi Garcia have looked good in spring training, but their track records are limited. German has not faced big leaguers in real games since 2019 because of the 81-game suspension he served under baseball’s domestic violence policy.
Severino, who missed most of 2019 with a torn lat muscle, was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in February 2020. The right-hander, who is 42-26 with a 3.46 ERA over 88 big league starts, has struck out 589 over 530 innings pitched in his career. He is in the third year of a fouryear extension signed in the spring of 2019.