Severino ready to hit rotation restart
While the Yankees tout the arrival of Gary Sanchez and the impending call-ups of Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Luis Severino can serve as an example of both what can go right and wrong with pinning high expectations on a prospect.
The right-hander will make his return to the rotation Tuesday in Boston after a disastrous start to the season — which followed a very impressive showing after he was initially summoned from the minors just over a year ago.
Following a nearly twomonth stint in the minors, Severino got back to the Yankees last month and, after three relief appearances, bumped Chad Green from the rotation.
“I’m not gonna think about the past,’’ Severino said. “I did some things to get better [with SWB] and I’m going to do the same things here.”
Brian McCann said he believes Severino will be better this time around.
“The action on his slider and his fastball location have improved,” McCann said. “And the experience he’s had can only help.”
Perhaps, but the Yankees would like Severino to avoid whatever led him to the 1-6, 7.40 ERA that knocked him out of the majors.
“I wasn’t worried about being sent down, but because my pitches weren’t working,’’ Severino said. “That had never happened before.”
Severino said he’s looking forward to working more with Sanchez, who he pitched to frequently as the pair came up through the minors.
As for what’s at stake for Severino for the rest of 2016, general manager Brian Cashman took a different view on the right-hander.
“Like any player, we want him to perform while he’s with us,” Cashman said. “But we also feel he has a long career ahead of him in The Bronx, so it’s not so much what he does in the next two months, but what he does long term for us.”
And with the Yankees still on the periphery of the wildcard race, Cashman said players other than just Judge and Austin could move up.
“It depends on our situation,” Cashman said. “Who’s to say we don’t bring up an extra arm as part of a revolving door for the bullpen?”
That would figure to be Ben Heller, a 24-year-old right-hander the Yankees got from Cleveland in the deal for Andrew Miller. Heller is 2-2 with a 2.20 ERA at the Triple-A level this season.
While Alex Rodriguez’s teammates sung his praises Sunday, injured Mets third baseman David Wright added to the chorus Monday.
“Growing up being a bigger shortstop, I always looked to Cal Ripken Jr. and I always looked to Alex as a reason why I could be a shortstop,” Wright said. “You turn on the TV and you see Cal Ripken Jr. and you see Alex and you say, ‘Wow, I could do this.’ It gave me confidence that I could stick at shortstop. … It’s gonna be strange not to see him out there, for sure.”