Severino scheduled to begin rehab assignment
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The start of Luis Severino’s rehab assignment is right around the corner.
The right-hander, out since the end of spring training with a lat injury, is scheduled to pitch for Triple-A Scranton/ WilkesBarre on Wednesday, according to Aaron Boone. Severino will fly home from Tampa Bay with the team Sunday after throwing three innings and 40 pitches in an intrasquad game at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Friday.
That game was closed to the media, but Boone said that the Yankees’ player development personnel and trainers watched Severino throw.
The manager added that Severino will need “at least a couple” starts in the minors before he can make his 2023 debut for the Yankees.
He’ll target 50ish pitches on Wednesday with the RailRiders.
Severino, an impending free agent, has pitched in just 26 games since 2019, including 19 starts last season, when he recorded a 3.18 ERA. Severino is one of three Yankees starters who began the year on the injured list, joining Frankie Montas and Carlos Rodon.
Latest on Rodon: Speaking of Rodon, the lefty’s back injection has been scheduled for Tuesday, per Boone. He’ll resume throwing after the injection as soon as he’s cleared to do so, but a timeline for that is unclear. The same goes for Rodon’s debut in pinstripes.
Rodon, the Yankees’ biggest offseason addition, has been sidelined since sustaining a left forearm strain early in spring training. But lately, a nagging mid-back issue has been delaying his return. Rodon and the team sought three opinions on the matter, and all agreed the injection was the best course of action.
“I think it’ll be better in the long run,” Rodon said before Friday’s loss to the Rays in series opener, “and I’ll be better coming out of it.”
Rodon added that he’s never dealt with something like this before, but doctors called his back issue “a chronic thing’ following scans.
“For some reason, now is when it wants to act out,” he said.
Rodon’s back is not hurting him, but tightness is restricting him on the mound. He said that his command is “not good at all” right now, but his bullpen velocity has been normal. He said his forearm is fine.
Rodon has not thrown in three days, though that wasn’t necessarily his choice. He last faced hitters on April 5.
“I wanted to throw today. I wanted to throw yesterday,” he said. “But that’s why we have the training staff we have, so I don’t do something stupid and make something worse. But I wouldn’t be me if I wasn’t pushing.”
Closer down the road: Boone said he could consider using Michael King as a closer “at some point” when asked about the right-hander’s potential in such a role. But Boone noted that King is built up for a multi-inning job, in which he’s incredibly valuable.
Boone said King’s role will “hopefully evolve,” but the Yankees are still being careful with the righthander after a stress fracture in his throwing elbow cut his 2022 campaign short.
King has three career saves, including two this season. He also owns a 1.42 ERA over 19 innings. All of his appearances have exceeded one inning, and he’s gone a few days between each outing.
The Yankees’ closing gig has been a topic of conversation thanks to some hiccups from Clay Holmes, but it doesn’t sound like anything is imminent with King.