New York Post

Revitalize­d Sevy eyes bounce-back season

- By DAN MARTIN dmartin@nypost.com

Perhaps no one in the major leagues is looking forward to a fresh start more than Luis Severino.

And he got one, donning a new uniform for the first time in his profession­al career after signing a oneyear deal with the Mets this past offseason after signing with the Yankees in 2011 and staying there until last season, which turned out to be the low point of his career.

“It feels different,’’ Severino said during the Mets’ workout at Citi Field on Wednesday before the home opener on Friday afternoon. “I like the ballpark, I like the team. I think it’s going to be a good year for me.”

That wasn’t the case last season, when Severino once again battled injuries en route to a year that ended with a 6.65 ERA and the right-hander calling himself “the worst pitcher in the game” after an especially poor outing in Baltimore in July.

But now Severino is armed with a $13 million make-good deal with the Mets and a cutter that he’s used effectivel­y during the spring.

He is already in a better place than he was at this point a year ago, when he missed the beginning of the season with a lat strain.

That came after an ugly spring in which he had a 9.00 ERA in five Grapefruit League outings.

In Severino’s first spring as a Met, he allowed just a pair of runs in 14 innings over four starts.

“I’m feeling good and feeling confident,’’ Severino said. “I worked on different stuff in the spring that really worked. Different pitches and locations and I’m taking that into the games now.” The way the spring went for Severino, he said, has helped him put last year’s fiasco in the past. He posted the worst numbers of his career across the board, from strikeout and walk rates, to the ineffectiv­eness of his four-seam fastball and slider, in particular.

But most of his pitches have looked good so far, something he’s been able to tell by the way opposing lineups have fared against him.

“At the beginning of spring, it was really hard not to think about last year, but by the end, when I started showing signs of improvemen­t, I felt better about everything,’’ Severino said.

And he’s ready for the next challenge in his career.

“I don’t need to prove the Yankees wrong for letting me go,’’ Severino said. “The Yankees are like a family to me. They did a lot for me. Now, it’s about me and my fans to know that I’m still here.”

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